Starlight High
by DucttapedCheshireCat
Summary: Typical cliques with not so typical students, crazy teachers with unorthadox techniques, and the proverbial new kid. Welcome to high school... Future yaoi and cussing
1. Chapter 1 Friend Like Me

**Alright :D**

**This story is up and running again. After being on hiatus for quite some time now, I finally found the inspiration and time to continue it. I can't promise regular updates and such, but I'm gonna do my best. Sadly my cowriter Ramen left this story, but yeah.. **

**First of all, I'm gonna put up all the old chaps that are already done, just gonna revise them as I go through the document, but yes. Hopefully you'll enjoy it. As for my other stories.. well.. Not right now. We'll see what happens. **

**Disclaimer**: I do not own KH or it's characters...or Final Fantasy and its characters...so there! Oh, and I don't own the song used for the name of this chapter...or any that may, and probably will, be used in the future.

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**St****arlight**** High**

**Chapter 1**** Friend like me**

_Axel_

I swear; alarm clocks are from hell. School is from hell. Everything that makes me have to wake up early is from hell. Don't get me wrong; I like school. Sort of. I just don't like waking up early, that's all. And the first day for school after summer vacation; that is the devil's invention.

School is kind of nice, and yeah if you want the sappy truth: I've missed my friends. I've even missed making fun of the preps; that bimbo Kairi, with her idiotic boyfriend Riku, the whore Olette and all the other airheads.

I stay in bed just a few minutes more, putting the alarm on snooze. The covers are so warm and everything just feels so nice and… damn. There went the alarm again. Against my will I raise from the warm haven that is my bed and head off to the bathroom for a shower. I let the warm water rinse over me.

My crimson red hair clung to my shoulders as it got wet. Contrary to popular belief, it's not dyed; it's my natural color. Both my brother and I have the same hair color, mine a little brighter. My brother is really cool, his name is Reno, he's two years older than me and we live together in a small apartment not too far from school and his college. I like my brother; he's cool, even if we too have our share of sibling fights. Maybe not as often as other people, but we have our reasons.

By the way; maybe I forgot to say that. I'm going be a high school senior now when we start up again, and it feels good to soon be done with high school. 'Cause it sucks. Big time.

After the shower I head back to my room to find some clothes. I settle for a pair of dark jeans with a dark red slim shirt. I glance at myself in the mirror hanging on my wall, roll up the sleeves of the shirt and start to fix my hair into messy low spikes. As a last thought I put on a thin silver chain around my neck.

I can hear Reno in the kitchen and head in for some breakfast. Reno is sitting on the countertop munching on some cereals from a bowl.

"Morning." I nod towards him and start searching the fridge for something edible and settle for some milk and cereal too.

"So... How do you feel?" he's quiet for a few seconds before -

"Senior." He adds as an afterthought with a snigger. I just shrug my shoulders.

"Okay I guess. Nothing special. Like always the first day of the new semester." I grin "Tired."

Reno just laughs at me and puts away his bowl before he walks out of the small kitchen to fix himself. I look around, the sun is shining brightly trough the curtains and it looks like it's going to turn out to be a sunny and nice day.

I finish my cereals, put the bowl away and head off to the bathroom again to brush my teeth. My reflection meets my gaze in the mirror and the green eyes stare back at me as I finish everything and head out to get ready. Reno sneaks in to the bathroom when I exit and I start too tie my shoes before I grab my phone and my old worn out leather jacket that once belonged to my dear brother. Ordinary morning routines at their best, like they've always been.

"Bye Reno, I'm off!" Reno looks out from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth, a brush in one hand and a bottle of hairspray in the other.

"Bye. Good luck."

I close the door behind me and walk down the stairs.

It isn't that far to school so I usually walk. I light a cigarette as I stroll down the street. Yes, I smoke. Do you have a problem with that?

When I'm done and throw away the filter I can see the school. It consists of four big block buildings in different pastel colours; one pink-ish, one blue, one yellow and the green main building with the letters 'STARLIGHT HIGH' in big black bold letters over the entrance. It is a pretty big school, with over 4000 students. I enter and almost fall over when I'm hugged as soon as I set my foot down inside. All I can see is a blond fauxhawk and huge sea green eyes. It was very few people who pulled of a fauxhawk as well as my dear friend Demyx did.

"Hey Demyx. How was your summer vacation?" Demyx just smiled and as he releases me from his death grip, his smile twists into a grimace.

"My parents dragged me to Sweden on some stupid trip to some stupid hotel completely made out of ice. Even the beds! **Ice**! Do you have any idea on how cold it was? And the jetlag!" **(1)**

"Cool." Demyx looks at me, eyes huge.

"Not cool." I just laugh at him before I look around.

"So, where did you leave Zexion and Fuu?"I ask. Zexion and Fuu are our other friends. They're both a year younger than me and Demyx, but they're okay. Zexion is a really good listener, and he's also really, really smart. Sometimes I wonder if he's too smart for his own good. Fuu is in the same class as Zexion and she's just kind of in for the ride. She's mostly Zexion's friend, but she's a very nice girl, even if she's kind of quiet and she does have her fits. Demyx points down the hall

We walk towards where they're sitting on the floor and Zexion gives us a small smile.

"Good morning Axel." I swear, that guy is always clearly awake, no matter how early it is, he's always up and jumping. Well… not literary but you get my point. Fuu just nods as a greeting.

"Ready for a new year of fun?" I grin towards the others. Demyx's grin is almost bigger than mine.

"Hell yeah!" I notice a head of brown spiky hair down the corridor.

"Excuse me guys, I have to secure my homework this year." They just laugh as I walk off. There's this guy that's the same age as Zexion and Fuu. His name's Sora and he's the biggest suck up that ever existed. We always made him do our homework in exchange for the fact that we don't give him a hard time and make sure the preps don't either. Don't get me wrong though; he is a very nice guy, always smiling and fun to hang out with. He and his techy friend Pence are sitting in the entrance, Pence playing with his laptop, currently trying to hack World of Warcraft or whatever.

"Yo Sora. Pence." Sora looks up and his face lit up in a big smile. He's one of those, you know. The ones you can't hate just because they're always happy and nice.

"Hi Axel, what's up?" I casually lean against a wall, cross my arms over my chest and give him a smile.

"Not much. 'sup you? How was summer?" Sora seemed to be literary bouncing, which made his chocolate spikes seem to defy gravity even more.

"It was good. I hung out with some old friends. Otherwise it's as always… Awesome." He gave me a toothy grin and I smiled back.

"Back to business… I was wondering if we should set up the same plan as last year?" Pence looked nervously on Sora, who seemed to think this over. Then he nodded.

"Yeah sure. That sounds good." I just smiled, turned around and waved over my shoulder.

"Happy doing business with you. See ya later." I walked towards the others before I realise we're soon going to start our first lesson, so I signed towards Demyx that I'm going out for a smoke before everything starts again for real. I head out the main entrance and grab the package from my pocket, take a cigarette and light it as I lean against the wall.

And things are like they've always been again.

Big violet eyes met her gaze in the mirror as she applied a peach eye shadow. She could hear Naminé blow dry her hair in the bathroom and when she was done she went in there. Naminé looked up at her and smiled.

"So Kairi" She started "Are you as nervous as I am?" Kairi laughed a little.

"Are you kidding me? I'm scared to death!" Both girls giggled and Kairi checked out her reflection in the big bathroom mirror. She pouted her lips and picked up a light pink glittery gloss which she put on. Naminé smiled towards her in the mirror.

"You look great Kai." The wine haired girl smiled against the pale blonde.

"You too, Nam. I really understand why you dress so much in white. The color really suits you." The pale girl blushed lightly.

"Thank you." Kairi started to fix her hair, nails painted a light pink color to match her pink dress. Naminé picked up a pretty translucent blue eye shadow and started to put it on.

"So... How are thing between you and Riku?" Kairi met Naminé's curious gaze in the mirror.

"He's mine." She smiled "He just doesn't know it yet." The blonde giggled lightly. She envied Kairi's confidence. She was always so secure in herself, carried herself with a sort of pride and grace that no one else managed, without being cocky. Naminé had always wondered how she ended up with such a wonderful best friend. They had been friends since they learned how to walk and talk.

Kairi smiled against her.

"Ready to go back?"

"You bet!" The girls giggled as they tied their shoes and went out from the mansion Kairi lived in with her parents.

When they got of the bus they looked up at the big green building and Kairi grinned.

"Finally we're back. And we're gonna be the coolest sophomores in the entire school." They walked hand in hand towards the main entrance when Kairi stopped in her tracks.

"Oh no. Not **him**." Naminé tried to see who she meant when she noticed a crazy red hair. Axel, a senior from their school. He and Kairi hated each other's guts. Kairi tensed, kept her head up high and walked past the idiotic redhead. In return she got a mouthful of smoke in her face. Axel grinned.

"Oh sorry Princess, didn't see you there." Kairi gave him an icy smile and brushed past him.

"Go to hell, fucktard." Naminé hurried after her friend and gave Axel a shy apologetic smile under bangs as she entered.

Axel sniggered.

Yup: things where definitely back to normal.

Kairi and Naminé searched the corridors for their friends before they heard a shriek behind them.

"Kairi!" The both girls turned around and saw their friend Olette run towards them. Kairi held out her arms and Olette flew on her, before the kissed each other's cheeks, French style.

"Hi Sweetie! How was your summer vacation?" Olette made a sour face.

"Don't even get me started. It totally sucked. My parents dragged me to our summer cabin and I didn't even have internet nor did my cell phone work out there." Kairi made a sad face.

"I am so sorry. How did you manage?" Olette gave her a smile full of secrets.

"We had a really hot neighbour. He was like 19 or something."

"Oh la la. Did something happen!" Olette grinned.

"You know it girl!" It was Kairi's turn to shriek.

"No way! I wanna know **all **the details later. Have you seen Riku?" Olette nodded.

"Yeah, he's over there." She pointed towards the rest of their friends, and the three girls walked together to the rest of their gang.

Naminé smiled to herself. She was finally home, where she belonged.

Yes the ice hotel exists for real. Not in the summer though, but it's fiction xD

-_Roxas_-

I slapped my radio hard enough to send it tumbling to the floor. The incessant, overly-loud rock station playing a heavy song as my wakeup call was redundant. I'd been awake since five.

I hated school. I hated moving. It was hard enough to attend the first day of school, especially as an insecure prepubescent, let alone having no friends to back you up and give you moral support.

Lying in bed for several more moments, I stared at the blank white ceiling, feeling tense and nervous. I wanted to just pull the covers over my head and hide for the rest of my life. But life is never fair, and I knew hiding accomplished nothing, so I made myself get up, giving my radio a good kick just for good measure as I walked past it to the bathroom.

There are many ways one can tell if a day is going to be good or bad…and my signs were about as subtle as a train hitting a car.

First, I couldn't find my favourite outfit that I'd made sure to pull out the day before, only to find it had some how managed to fall off the chair next to my bed. Second, the water on my nightstand had fallen in the night and soaked said outfit, leaving me sighing and scrambling through boxes to find something else at the last minute.

Then I sneezed while brushing my teeth…if you've never done that before, you can't even **imagine** the embarrassment and mess you have to deal with afterwards.

After my fiasco in the bathroom was finished, I tried to fix my hair, only to have the unruly blonde locks disobey my every order and command, leaving the style I'd planned and just sticking up wherever it pleased. I sighed for what felt like the millionth time that morning and just gave up.

Breakfast was botched when I accidentally poured water in the bowl instead of milk…and didn't even realize I had until I took a bite. My poor mouth…it'll never be the same again, that's for sure.

And so, disgusted and traumatized, I left the house, only to realize I'd forgotten to put on my shoes. So I went back in and shoved on my black converse. I stepped out the door again, only to remember that I'd forgotten my bag this time. Aggravated, I kicked the door open once more and tore the backpack out of the closet.

I actually made it to the driveway…before noticing that my backpack was empty.

"If there's a god…he hates me." I muttered before storming back into the house.

Awkward as it is to ride the city bus, it's made even more so when you make to disembark, and fall flat on your face in front of everyone on the bus and waiting at the stop.

I pushed myself to my feet, brushing dirt off my black jeans and white hoodie. Great first impressions I was making in this city. I shook my hair out of my face and slung my bag over one shoulder before trying to make the best of my situation (namely, the people staring at me) and tried out a smooth, 'I-don't-care-what-you-think' walk…that came to an abrupt end when I tripped over my own feet. Not my fault really, you ever tried to walk like that? It's hard!

I wasn't all that sure where I was, I'd tried to memorize the map yesterday, so I could find the school. I wandered up and down the block it was supposed to be on. I spotted a group of buildings, one pink-ish, which I thought odd, one yellow, which was rather ugly, another blue, which I actually liked since it's one of my favourite colours, and one large main building in green. This looked like the school. And there were a decent amount of people my age milling about, heading inside.

However, a couple of things were off…like the redhead leaning against the wall nearby with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. This couldn't be the high school, not with Mr. Smoky nearby. I sighed. How the hell was I going to find the school now?

Because I didn't stop walking when I closed my eyes, I wasn't too embarrassed when I bumped into someone. I was, however, mortified when I saw it was the tall, green-eyed redhead, who was staring down at me strangely, that damnable cigarette still between his lips. My face grew hot and I tried not to stare. Turning my face away, I figured I'd try again to make the best of my situation…and hope that it didn't turn out like the bus incident.

"Could you, ah, tell me where Starlight High is?" I asked, fiddling with the strap of my backpack.

"It's right behind you, kid." I blinked back up at the redhead to see he was now staring at me amusedly, one eyebrow raised as he pointed a mocking finger over my shoulder.

"Wha?" I whirled around to stare back at the colourful buildings…only to see the large, bold letters that were clearly visible. **STARLIGHT HIGH**. "God I'm retarded…" I muttered to myself.

"Yep, you sure are," I turned to glare at the redhead as he flicked what was left of his cigarette away. "Later, Blondie." He ruffled my hair roughly, messing it up even more and permanently entrenching himself on my shit list. He sauntered away, each move smooth and natural, earning him envy from me as well. Why couldn't **I** be that graceful?

I slapped myself in the face, just as I heard the bell ring. Shit. And now I was late to boot.

I stomped down the hall, trying to find my first class, when I was stopped by some random adult, stating that I needed to get a late pass from the Attendance office. So, I went stomping back to the office. Sitting behind the shallow desk was probably the largest man in existence. His hair was a dark, strange orange-ish brown colour, sticking straight up. He was big, he was burly, and he, quite frankly, made me briefly have the thought of pissing myself in fright before running away, screaming like a little girl. Especially when he sighed and shook his head at me, eyes staring right through me, as if to berate my soul.

"First day, and you can't even be on time for that?" he muttered, sliding a blue piece of paper in front of me and tapping the top with a pencil. I quickly wrote down my name and the time before he circled "unexcused" on the pass and handing it to me, silent now.

"Um…I'm new here and…can you tell me where this class is?" I handed him my schedule, pausing to glance down and see the nameplate on his desk. Lexaeus? What the hell kind of name was that? …not that I'm really one to talk…but still.

Lexaeus leaned around me and pointed at someone. "You!" his voice boomed, making me jump and reconsider the whole, 'pissing-self-and-fleeing' idea. "Get over here and show the new kid to his classes for today."

Full of trepidation, I slowly turned and gaped as the same lanky redhead from outside came strolling boredly up to stand next to me. Oh please, I begged Mr. Lexaeus with my eyes, not Mr. Cocky Smoky! I've already embarrassed myself with him today; give me someone else to ruin my first impression with!

Giving me a full once over that I returned, Smoky winked and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "A'ight, but only if you excuse me from first period."

"Fine." Lexaeus filled out a pink slip and handed it to Smoky, who snatched it up with a wry, cocky grin.

"Sweetness, let's go Blondie."

I glowered at the hated nickname that always seemed to be attributed to me as Smoky nudged me forward. I followed simply because I wanted to get to class and away from the redhead, who smelled like those foul things he puffed. "My name isn't 'Blondie'." I snapped, trying to fix my hair and failing miserably.

He laughed at me and gave me a playful punch in the arm, that didn't feel all that playful. "Right, you're Retarded."

"I'm ROXAS!" I yelled, my temper flaring.

Mimicking the exasperated, frustrated expression I apparently had on my face, Smoky mocked my angry tone. "I'm AXEL!" he gave me a rather harsh shove towards a door, that I promptly squashed my face against. "And here's your stupid math class!" he was still shouting, but that same, cheeky grin was on his face.

Happy to get away, I stuck my tongue out at him childishly before ducking into the classroom.

And since today wasn't my day, class had already started and everyone was staring at me. Even the teacher, who was, to say the least, the oddest teacher I've ever seen in my life. He was average height, looked to be in his late twenties, maybe early thirties, had bleach blond hair that was cut short and a goatee to match. Multiple piercings adorned his ear and he was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans, looking just as bored as the students were with the class.

"And you are…?" he questioned, raising an inquiring eyebrow at me. I choked on some spit and started hacking and coughing, earning me entertained laughs from the class as they pointed and began whispering about me.

"Uh…" well, **that** was real intelligent…shit, what was my name again? Why couldn't I remember? Oh great, now they're all pointing and laughing again. I cleared my throat and tried to fight of a blush and failing. "R-R-Roxas." I stuttered, wanting to smack myself.

"What kind of a name is R-R-Roxas?" the teacher asked, frowning.

"No, it's just…just Roxas." I sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat. It seemed there was no way to redeem today. It was officially botched.

"Well, whatever Roxas, take a seat anywhere and pay attention." The teacher replied, sounding tired and, yes, bored. "I'm Luxord by the way. No need for Mister."

I quickly gathered my wits and shot for an empty desk I'd spotted in the back of the room. I sat with a relieved sigh, noticing that everyone was returning to talking amongst themselves and not even glancing up at the board where Luxord scribbled several mathematical equations. I pulled out a pencil and an empty notebook, preparing to take notes, when a piece of paper poked me in the arm.

"Eh?" I looked down to see a folded note next to my elbow. I followed the tanned skin of the hand that held it, all the way up a skinny arm, to an open, welcoming face adorned with the brightest smile I'd ever come across that early in the morning. "Wha?" spiky brown locks bounced as the kid next to me giggled, his blue eyes sparkling. He poked me with the paper again and I took it, if for no other reason but to get him to stop.

I opened it up and gaped to see all the equations written neatly at the top and each one broken down and explained in crisp, clear handwriting.

"I'm Sora." The kid held out his now free hand and I shook it numbly. "You looked a little lost, so I figured I'd help." He giggled again.

"B-but what about you? Aren't these your notes?" I tried to give the paper back, but Sora shook his head, fending me off with his hand.

"I make copies." He grinned in a silly way, holding up a small stack of papers with the same thing written on them. "So, you new here? I haven't seen you before!"

"Uh, yeah…I just moved here a couple weeks ago…" I muttered, reading over the paper and understanding math in a way I'd never understood it before. Wow, Sora was really smart…and he knew how to convey his intelligence to those of us who didn't speak nerd.

"Cool. I've lived here all my life. So I know everybody." He said proudly, pounding a fist against his chest. "I'd be happy to show you around. What classes do you have?"

I handed him my schedule and he read it over, muttering to himself as he scribbled notes in his notebook and on the paper before handing it back. I glanced down to see directions written down next to each class name. What building it was in, fastest ways to get there, and so on. Again, wow, Sora was a really smart guy…and **nice**.

"We have a couple of classes together, so I guess I'll see you in them too." He stood and I opened my mouth to ask what he was doing, just as the bell rang, answering my unspoken question. "Come on, you don't wanna be late to **every** class do you?" Sora held out his hand again, and I smiled for the first time that day. Maybe there was hope.

We walked out of class together, behind everybody else. Once we got out there, I started in the direction Sora pointed in so I could get to my next class, only to be stopped by a long arm wrapping itself around my chest, yanking me back hard enough to make me lose my balance, and I fell flat on my ass.

"Whoops, sorry there, ROXAS!" Axel screamed my name, grinning almost evilly down at me from where he stood, arms crossed. "Promised I'd show you around for the day to get out of class, and I always keep my promises." The way he said 'promises' made me shudder. Why did it seem like a dirty word the way he said it?

"Oh, hey Axel." Sora greeted the redhead cheerily, bouncing a bit as he waved at the guy who stood not even three feet away from him.

"Hey there, Sora." Axel said, never taking his green eyes off of me. I finally stood and brushed off my clothes again. I was sick of falling, and the morning wasn't even over yet.

I glared up at the redhead, hating how short he made me feel. "I don't need your help any more. Just say that you helped me and I won't say you didn't." I started to walk past him, only to smack into someone who was coming up behind us, sending both of us to the floor…again.

"Jeez, not making very good impressions, are ya, ROXAS?" My eye twitched as Axel shouted my name again. That joke was starting to get old. It wasn't even funny in the first place. And I wished he would quit pointing out the obvious, it only made me feel like a bigger dork.

"Nah, it's cool, Ax." The guy I'd body slammed stood and held out a hand to help me up. I glanced up at him and felt my jaw go slack. What was it with the people here. Did they **all** have crazy hair? First, Axel's obnoxious red that doesn't even look real, spiked low in the back, Sora's bouncy brown spikes that seemed to defy gravity and now…what the hell would you call that hairstyle? It was a mix between a mullet and a mohawk…

And it surprisingly looked good.

"I'm Demyx, by the way." The chipper blonde said with a laugh. "Not how I usually meet people, but hey, seizing the moment and all that jazz." He waved a hand dismissively. He had nice, big eyes the colour of the sea. Everything suited him. Except for his clothes, which looked almost exactly like Axel's save for a blue instead of a red shirt. I frowned.

"Roxas," I grumbled. "Sorry, I didn't see you."

"People usually don't…unless I make them." Demyx winked, and I could only guess at what he meant by that. He, too, took the unwelcome liberty of slinging an arm around my shoulders and ruffling my hair. At his point, I didn't even bother to complain or fix the mess. Why when it was more than likely going to happen again? "Heya, Sora." Demyx grinned at the brunet.

"Hi, Demyx." Sora smiled broadly. As he noticed me staring at him, he shrugged modestly and said, "Hey, told you I know everybody." The warning bell rang, signalling that there were only three minutes left until class started. "Well, guess that's our cue to go." Sora turned away with a wave. "See ya around, Roxas. Bye guys,"

"So, I guess we'd better get movin', huh, ROXAS?" Axel came over and took up residence on my other side. His arm overlapped Demyx's over my shoulder and they both steered me towards the direction Sora had pointed out earlier.

Okay, so I take it back…today still sucked.

And it didn't get any better as time wore on.

It was now lunch, and I wish I could say I was glad, but I wasn't. After each and every class, I was accosted in the hall by Axel and Demyx, who would drag me around the school, showing me what they could before throwing me at my next classroom door with only seconds to spare before the bell rang. How they got to their classes was beyond me.

"Roxas! Over here!" Sora called to me. I headed blankly over to an empty table he sat at. There was another kid there, deeply entrenched in whatever he was doing on his laptop. His hair was dark, held back with a red headband, and he didn't so much as look up as I sat next to Sora. "This is Pence, by the way. He's in the zone, so don't think he's rude or anything."

I nodded at that and only then remembered that my morning had been hell, which led to me being lunchless…and I had no money. Great. Have a bad day, go hungry.

There was a loud ruckus as more and more people came into the cafeteria. The people I assumed were the popular crowd, seeing as the girls all wore makeup and skimpy clothes, the guys were all built and attractive, and every single one of them had expensive bags, were bunched around several tables in the center of the room. There were a couple of smaller groups of people sitting at the tables in the corners, but none of them even gave the popular crowd a second glance.

"Damn it! I coulda taken him!" someone shouted. I jerked my head up to see Axel, Demyx, some weird kid with slate-colored hair that covered one side of his face with his nose stuck in a book, a girl who looked a lot like the bookworm, and a heated blonde wearing camouflage pants, a green vest and sporting an ugly looking black eye and a split lip.

"Quit acting like you're the shit, Hayner." Axel snapped. The others sat calmly at the table, as if nothing were out of the ordinary.

"Why don't you quit acting like a jackass?" the blonde, Hayner, growled.

Axel slammed one hand, palm down on the table, which just so happened to be in the spot right in front of me. I jumped at the loud bang, unable to take my eyes off of the pair, who were quickly gaining the attention of everyone else in the room.

Looming over Hayner, Axel smirked. "I'd advise you to shut your fucking mouth before I knock your damn teeth out, boy."

Hayner held up his fists. "I'm not afraid of you! Let's go!"

Axel straightened and, with a bored look, flicked Hayner in the forehead before sitting down. "Whatever, dude."

"So," Demyx spoke up, breaking the awkward silence that had previously been broken only by the constant tapping of Pence's fingers on his keyboard. "Anybody got anything edible?"

Sora nudged me in the side and I tore my eyes away from the newcomers to blink at him. "You know Axel and Demyx. That's Hayner, as you've probably guessed. Those two are Zexion and Fuu." Sora pointed at each person. He indicated the last two with a tilt of his head. "Zexion's always got a book on him, but don't ever suggest that he's emo, even if he looks like it." I nodded and Sora continued. "Hayner's always fighting with somebody, so watch out for him if he's in a pissy mood." Again, I nodded. "And Fuu…well…what to say about Fuu…she's really quiet…she can get scary sometimes, but she's actually really nice. She just doesn't like people all that much. Come to think of it... She hates everyone; there are just some people she hates a little less..."

I glanced around the table at the lot of them. So, now I had friends…sort of.

Question was; could I survive being their friend?

* * *

There 8D


	2. Chapter 2 Ice caps and videogames

**Chapter 2**** ice caps, video games and cigarettes**

**I ****don't own the chapter title from whatever song we decide on, nor do I own World of Warcraft from last chapter. Neither do I own Baskin & Robin's nor Kingdom Hearts nor whatever game they play at Axel's place xD**

Not much more happened during the lunch period aside from Roxas getting a deeper look into the crazies who had entrenched themselves into his life against his (somewhat resisting) will.

He learned that what Sora had told him about each of them was pretty much the truth. Zexion read through a majority of the period, though if someone spoke of something he was interested in, he replied without hesitation, and usually without pause. It was as if he chose not to speak, but once you got him started, he didn't stop until he'd said what he wanted to say.

Axel was Axel and Demyx was Demyx. There were no real words to describe those two. They were who they were and they dared anybody to question that. Although, Roxas found it was a bit easier to get along with Demyx, since Axel seemed somewhat bipolar.

Hayner ranted and raved about the fight he'd gotten in before lunch, pounding his fists into the table and shouting for all to hear that he wasn't a coward, that he could've taken the guy blind-folded with an arm tied behind his back. It got annoying fast, but since everyone else ignored him, Roxas decided to follow their example.

Fuu was the only one he couldn't quite figure out. She remained silent, staring at her food instead of eating it. Every time Roxas tried to strike up a conversation with her, she'd send him a death glare that immediately had him snapping his mouth shut for fear of facing her terrifying wrath.

Sora was the one who kept the conversations rolling, changing the subject whenever he thought it was getting too touchy for someone and being a bright, smiling ray of sunshine. Pence sat next to him, nodding in agreeance to whatever Sora spoke of, an absent smile on his face as he typed, eyes forever trained on the screen of his laptop.

Aside from the constant insults they threw randomly at each other, they seemed pretty stable people. Well, by high school standards they were stable. And Roxas decided that he had found a decent group he could truly call friends…once he got to know them all a little better of course.

_-Zexion's POV-_

First day of school, and already I was more than ready for the year to be over.

It wasn't for any real particular reason other than the cess pool of prepubescent angst and insecurity came to be a bore quite fast, and, after all, no matter what kind of cess pool it was, you did not wallow in one for long before you became a permanent part of it.

The halls were cramped and loud, as usual, and looking around at them all, running about like headless chickens, only they spoke, I couldn't help but be reminded of cattle. The student body I mean. The bell rang and they herded themselves into one pen after another, disguised cleverly as classrooms, it rang again and they immediately did the same thing as before. Occasionally they were let out to pasture, more commonly known as lunch period, and that was when things got a bit out of hand. Then the ball rang and they were back to being senseless cattle. Even after school was let out, most of them did the same thing every day.

And in the end, they all came back here to do the same thing, yet again, for nine months.

It was rather sad, though I couldn't really say that much about it…after all, I was part of the herd myself.

And it was with this thought that I sat in my Psychology class with a tired sigh.

"Oh, you're in this class too?"

I glanced up, flicking my hair out of my face briefly to get a closer look at who had spoken, although I already knew exactly who it was. The new kid: Roxas. He stood next to my desk, shuffling his feet, looking uncertain.

"Yes." I answered, pulling out my textbook. I flipped open to the preface, beginning to read. I wasn't trying to be mean; I just saw no further need to speak to the blond.

More people filed in, milling about with friends and grouping desks together, the din of voices growing in volume. Roxas finally stopped fidgeting next to my desk and sat in front of me, choosing to restlessly shift around there instead. I sighed again, quietly so as not to alert any of those around me. The day was only half over, and I was beat.

Fuu came in and took the desk next to mine. I gave her a small smile, since she was one of my best friends. She nodded modestly at me, not saying a word, but taking out her materials much like I had already done. She wasn't much for talking, like me, which I suppose was why we became good friends as quickly as we did. We'd only known each other since middle school, but it felt like a lot longer than that sometimes. We just got along so easily, and it was actually a relief to know she was in this class with me, though I briefly wondered why I was worried that she wouldn't be.

Another thing we had in common was our drive for knowledge. Fuu had an astute mind, which also made us easy companions, since I had met few people who shared that with me. It was awkward to be surrounded by those who were on a more average level, who resented you for your intelligence when it wasn't really yours by choice. Fuu understood that.

Roxas turned in his chair to face me, blue eyes half-closed and clouded with worry. "Is this class hard? I've never taken anything like this before…psychology…just the name is a bit off-putting, dontcha think?"

I made disagreeing sound, not looking up from my text. The teacher was a bit late…or maybe I had just been early…I just wish that class would start. The sooner it was started, the sooner it would be over. One step closer to going home. Anything to get away from school, even if it meant being forced away from the quiet sanctuary of my room to "hang out" with Axel and the others.

"Um…okay…well…"

Raising an eyebrow, I brought my eyes up to his face, waiting for Roxas to finish whatever it was he wanted to say.

Roxas had his mouth open, but before any more broken words could stream through that orifice, the teacher slammed the door, bringing everybody to rigid attention. They all, including me, stared at the man who was to teach us the art of psychology. He was average height, if a bit burly, looked about the age of thirty, and had long, dark hair that was separated into braided locks, made stranger by the large, rather ugly sideburns that nearly reached his chin. His eyes were a strange violet color that slashed through any and all who chose to meet them, though he didn't come across as cruel, just…powerful.

When all was silent, he straightened, folding his arms behind his back. The actions pulled open his suit jacket, exposing his broad chest clothed in a crisp white shirt. "Now," he began, walking towards the desk at the head of the class. "Would anyone care to tell me why I did that?" He ceased moving once he reached his desk. When nobody raised their hand or spoke, he slammed both hands, palms down on the desktop, making us all jump again. "No? Very well then, you're off the hook since it's the first day."

I actually found myself intimidated by this teacher. He was authorative, and let nothing stand in the way of exerting that authority. I reminded myself to take careful notes and not fall behind in my work for this class. With a teacher like him, I wasn't about to take any chances.

A quick look to Fuu told me that she agreed with my thinking. The stiff way she sat at attention and kept her eyes on the large man at the head of the class left no doubt in my mind that she'd come to the same conclusion as I. Another reason why we were friends. We thought alike.

"I am Mr. Xaldin. And I expect respect from you all." The teacher went on. Everyone, again myself included, nodded at his words, remaining silent.

Poor Roxas looks like he's scared, I thought, watching the way the other teen trembled in his chair, sinking lower and lower, as if to hide from those piercing eyes that kept sweeping through the room. I found I wasn't quite as intimidated as before. This was psychology class, so how fitting was it that the teacher played mind games? I was fairly good at them myself. I grinned down at my hands, folded on my desk.

I was going to enjoy this class.

_-Fuu's POV-_

Our psychology teacher was clearly fit to teach our class…meaning he was _psycho_.

I shook my head slightly, ignoring the strange looks and words exchanged by those around me, as usual. The first day had been its typical hell, and I resented the fact that I had to come back to this awful place.

The preps were just as preppy, if not more so than ever, and were still giving me those high-handed looks. Staring down their noses at the creepy, quiet, smart girl. Gah, but those people bothered me. It was like; they couldn't possibly hate themselves enough, so they had to spread that repressed insignificance around. Sharing the love and all that.

My friends weren't much of a change either…

Axel was still a bipolar freak, who still smoked. Sora was still the easily manipulated nice-guy, Hayner was still the brainless hothead he'd always been, the new kid, Roxas, wasn't any better than the rest of them…always trying to break awkward silences, only to create them. It had taken all I had to not just snap right then and there and choke him at lunch when he kept trying to engage me in conversation. When I had something worth saying, or someone worth speaking to, I'd speak damn it!

And Demyx…oooh, Demyx got on my nerves the most! He was just…so happy…all the time…well, okay, so not all the time. But he was overly optimistic. It grated on me sometimes, I suppose. And I hated how easily he got along with everyone. How easily he made friends. I'd never been like that. Always the quiet one, sitting in her little corner with her books and her useless knowledge of things nobody cared about.

At least, I had been until Zexion had come along…

I glanced over at him again. The soft smile he'd given me in greeting when I'd walked into class had made my heart flutter and my stomach clench. He didn't smile often, and I'd only ever known him to smile at me. Oh, that smile, it made me want to blush and giggle, which isn't a normal reaction for me. Far from it.

There was just something about him. His quiet demeanour, his cool, calm, one could almost say calculating, way he dealt with everything, from teachers and school work, to the other students. He had confidence, though he kept it subtle. And he was modest, kind…I caught myself about to sigh. I blinked several times, shaking my head a bit. Had I just been day-dreaming?

Mr. Xaldin slapped his ruler against the board as he lectured, catching me by surprise. I jumped, my elbow knocking my pencil to the floor with a clatter. "Gah…" I leaned over to retrieve it…just as Zexion did the same.

Our hands touched as we reached for my pencil at the same time. I swallowed nervously, feeling my face grow warm as our eyes met across the small space between our desks. He chuckled lightly, removing his hand, much to my dismay. I tried to cover my reaction by snatching my pencil off the floor and sitting upright. I ducked my head, trying to hide my face behind my hair and still see the teacher.

Not long after, the bell rang, and everyone stood, quickly filing out of the room. Roxas jumped to his feet and kept trying to talk to Zexion. Zexion nodded and gave curt, one word replies, gathering his things and heading for the door. I hurriedly stuffed my papers into my bag, rushing to follow.

We entered the chaotic hallway, parting ways with Roxas. Though he said goodbye and Zexion reciprocated, I chose not to speak. I was still on the fence with my opinion of the new kid, so he was just going to have to put up with my cold attitude for now.

I mentally cursed as I was mercilessly bumped and jostled by the crush of bodies in the narrow halls. I reached a hand forward, blindly trying to find my way through, when a warm hand enveloped mine, gently tugging me along. Once I realized who'd saved me from being trampled, my face grew hot again and I glanced away. Zexion…

"Will you be alright by yourself now?" he asked, giving me a mildly concerned look that made my mouth go dry.

"Yeah…thanks." I muttered quietly, spinning away and all but running into my next class.

I found a desk in the back and settled in. Leaning back, I brought my hand up to my chest, tracing the backs of my fingers with my other hand, still feeling that odd tingling sensation I'd felt earlier, when our hands had accidentally touched, and then just now when…when he'd helped me.

The bell rang and a rush of students came into the room, taking up the remaining seats. None of them came within two desks of me on either side, but I didn't care. I was sort of off in my own little world at the moment as I came to a realization, much to my mixed dismay and delight.

My feelings for Zexion hadn't changed over the summer…they'd grown stronger.

_-Yuffie's POV-_

"Stupid paperwork…gah!" I slammed the stack of papers down on the desk, watching them slide over to the other side and fly to the floor with a grin. "Ha! Take that you stupid papers!"

I sat back with a satisfied sigh. First day of school hadn't been so bad. I was actually beginning to enjoy myself. Teaching was the best job ever! Although, I could do without all the damn paperwork!

The bell rang and I boredly glanced over at the clock mounted on the wall. "Hmm…it's like, time for me to teach a class…" I yawned widely. I was going to miss all those sleepy, lazy days of summer, I just knew it. Getting up early by choice was one thing, and I did it all the time. But getting up early because you _had_ to…now that was a different story altogether.

"Wait a minute!" I jumped up from my chair, staring at the clock. "It's time for me to teach a class!"

I shot out the door of my office, darting down the halls to the gymnasium. Damn paperwork, making me lose track of the time! I sprinted around a corner and tripped, but my super ninja skills kept me on my feet and I made it to the gym only five minutes late.

Throwing the doors open I bounced over to the milling group of students gathered together, all of them wearing black shorts and gray t-shirts of various sizes and styles. "Yoo-hoo!" I called cheerfully, waving to get their attention. The unfamiliar faces, aka freshman, all gaped at me and my smile grew. I loved having that 'awe' factor. The looks on people's faces were just so goddamned priceless!

"Wow…" one of the guys gasped, pointing at me. I knew he was commenting on my awesomeness. I was wearing my favourite outfit, consisting of gray shorts with black suspenders, a small black top, and my sweet headband. The Great Ninja Yuffie will always dress to impress!

"I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie, for those of you new here, and I'll be your physical education teacher this year! We'll have fun, I promise!" I laughed, inviting those who still looked a little bit nervous to join in.

A blond boy nudged his redheaded companion and stepped forward. He winked and let out a long, leering whistle. "Hey baby," he growled playfully. "You're lookin' _hot_, this year," the redhead muffled chuckles with both hands pressed tightly over his mouth.

The others started laughing along and I plastered a smile on my face, feeling my eye twitch in annoyance. Ah, the troublesome ones…they were always the most irritating…and most fun to play with.

"Oh, Tidus, Wakka, my lovelies, I'm flattered…and as a reward for making my day, you both get to run three miles."

They gaped at me and I clapped my hands, making them and the other students jump in surprise. "Y-you're serious? They were just joking around," a dark-haired boy defended. I didn't recognize him, but I wasn't about to let that stop me.

"Well…when you put it that way…" –they all seemed to relax- "I guess you'll just have to run with them!" everybody started talking at once, arguing and complaining, but I was having none of it. "Oh come on! Don't be babies! RUN!"

They immediately began running around the gym at my order, cursing and whining the whole time. I giggled and stood to the side, cheering them all on.

Yes…teaching was, indeed, the greatest job of all time!

Not far from where the freshman ran laps a group of students hung out on a bleacher, watching the poor kids suffering Yuffie's wrath. A boy with long silver white hair grinned.

"I can't believe that they never learn. Every year it's the same thing" A girl with brown hair smiled. The smile was almost sickly sweet.

"I've heard that you did the same thing when you were a freshman, Riku." The silver-haired guy, Riku, quickly snapped his head against the brunette.

"Shut up Olette, I did not." A big, muscular dude spoke up.

"She's right, ya know!" Riku just rolled his eyes.

"Be quiet Rai! I believe you Riku." The wine-haired girl who had spoken rose and seated herself in Riku's lap, arms around his neck.

"Thanks, Kairi." She gave him a hug and winked over his shoulder towards a pale blond girl. Naminé just smiled towards her.

Maybe Kairi would finally be able to catch the two year older senior, Riku, on whom she had had her eyes on since they started.

Naminé were happy for her, but she couldn't help feeling a little alone. Kairi was, after all, her best friend, as well as the only one she really trusted. Well… Hopefully time would sort things out.

She decided to take a little walk, so she rose, told the others so and walked away.

The school campus was beautiful this time of the year, since she loved the fall with all of its lovely colors.

When she reached the running-tracks she heard running steps behind her and turned around. Rai came running in 150 mph or more.

"Hey! Naminé! Wait up, I'm right there!" she stood still, waiting for the older guy to catch up. She let him catch his breath before asking what he wanted. He stood up straight and gave her a charming smile.

"I just thought you might want some company, ya know…?" Naminé felt how warmth spread over her pale cheeks before she nodded.

"Sure, company is always nice." They started walking again, freshman after freshman swishing past them every few seconds on the track next to them, but they didn't mind. They laughed and talked and Naminé felt how easy Rai was to talk too. It almost felt like she could tell him anything, if she got the chance. Like he was one of those persons you just immediately click with.

To Naminé's great disappointment she realized that the freshmen started to get done with their class. Rai was the one to point this out.

"Maybe we should head back to the others, so they don't think I've kidnapped you and raped you behind a tree or something, ya know?" She giggled and nodded and they walked back towards the bleacher where the others sat.

Naminé skipped towards her friends and missed the thumb-up sign Rai gave to the wine haired girl who nodded almost un-noticeable and then lit up against her friend.

"Hey Nam, wanna come over to my place a while?" Naminé smiled against the wine haired girl before she nodded.

This just had to be her lucky day; she were back where she belonged with all her friends, they were as nice as always, one of the most popular guys at their school wanted to walk with her and they seemed to have a lot in common and they had fun together and now Kairi wanted her to come to her place. Life was sweet sometimes.

The two girls walked the way home, stopping by a _Baskin & Robin's_ for some ice cream which they ate on a bench in a park not too far from the block Kairi lived on. Naminé took a spoonful of her Baseball nut ice cream with hot fudge and looked around in the park. Dog-owners and small families with kids were playing everywhere, some just sitting on a blanket it the warm sun. She smiled to herself; this was life.

Kairi looked at her.

"What are you smiling about?" Naminé just continued smiling, sun in her eyes.

"Life in general…" Kairi made a mysterious smile.

"Soo… You're not thinking about a certain dark haired guy..?" Naminé blushed.

"I don't know… He's really sweet… I think.. maybe… maybe I kinda like him. I don't know, but it felt like a flutter of thousands of small wings in my stomach when we walked around earlier." Kairi smiled towards her, now a real smile. Or at least it looked like it to Naminé.

"I think someone's inloooooove" She giggled and Naminé blushed even harder.

"Am not!" Kairi raised a well-plucked eyebrow at her pale friend.

"Oh Really..?" Naminé looked down at the cup of ice cream in her hands.

"Maybe a little…" Kairi made a girly shriek.

"I'm so happy for you!" Naminé played with the spoon before she took another spoonful of the heavenly treat. Kairi also took a spoonful of her own pale blue sea salt ice cream. Silence was lying awkward and thick, almost so thick you could take a knife and cut through it.

"I don't know if he feels the same…" Naminé mumbled finally. Kairi shook her head.

"Don't be ridiculous; of course he likes you! You're an awesome girl, and you're... Well, you're kinda cute and you're really sweet as a person." Naminé failed to see the hidden taunt and smiled against her friend.

"Thanks Kai…" The wine haired girl just smiled.

"That's what friends are for, right?" Naminé nodded and they went back to their ice creams. Silence regained, but this time it weren't as awkward and… silent as the last time. It was a more comforting silence, between friends, knowing that you don't always have to talk. A silent understanding between each other.

They finished their ice creams off, threw their cups in a nearby trash can and started to walk home again. Naminé was the one to break the new silence.

"How are things between you and Riku now?" Kairi grinned.

"I thought you'd never ask! Yup.. We're together now." Naminé smiled.

"I'm glad. You've wanted him a long time." The redheaded girl nodded.

"Yeah. And no one makes me wait. I always get want I want."

Back in the teacher's lounge in the school, Yuffie came in. She smiled towards the other teacher's sitting there before jumping down on a couch next to the English teacher, Tifa.

"It's always so much fun to get new students to torment!" She grinned. Marluxia, the home ec. teacher glanced over at her, rolling his eyes before returning to correcting summer home work essays. Xigbar, the art teacher also glanced up.

"What did you make them do this time? Clean your socks? Perhaps **eat** your socks?" Yuffie extended her tongue against him.

"Go shove it Patchy. I made them run laps, nothing bad."

"Oh really? And how far did you make them run?"

"3 miles?" Choked laughs were heard and Xigbar cleared his throat.

"Nothing bad then." The words screamed of sarcasm, but it passed Yuffie who just nodded and smiled.

"That's what I said."

Their discussion was interrupted by Mr. Xemnas, the school principal entering the room.

"We're going have a theme-week in two weeks. All the senior and junior students are to work about the ice capes melting and global warming. We're going to show them movies, have discussions and other things that have something about the subject to do so please make your lesson fitting of the theme. By the end of the week they're going to have written a paper about it in 5000 words. Thank you" He exited as fast as he'd shown up and the entire teacher body in there looked like they didn't know what hit them.

Saïx, the foreign language teacher looked confused.

"How the hell do you make foreign language fitting to teach about that?" Yuffie snapped.

"Oh show them a movie in French or talk about it in German! How do you make physical education fitting of that subject?" Tifa patted her back.

"There there Yuffie, you will work it out. And if you don't, just talk to Professor Xemnas about it and I'm sure he can work something out." Yuffie nodded, still looking crushed, but with somewhat more self-confidence.

Before they knew it she was standing, one foot on the floor, the other on the couch, a fist in the air.

"I'm the great ninja Yuffie! I **will** succeed! I will prevail! Even if it's the last thing I do!"

"There you go Axel." Aerith, the school nurse put a bandage around the redhead's hand, since he crushed it pretty bad when he finally snapped at Hayner's never stopping bragging, giving the blond a crushed nose to match the black eyes. Axel rose when she was done and bowed.

"Thank you Aerith." She just made a pretty smile and collected some papers while Axel left the room. Demyx flew up when he opened the door.

"How was it? Was it bad?" Axel smiled.

"Don't worry about it Demyx, it'll be okay. It was mostly Hayner's blood." Demyx nodded and they left the waiting room before walking around in the school, looking for their friends.

They found the majority of them by the entrance. Zexion was the first to speak up.

"We're waiting for Sora and Pence. Hayner went home." Roxas looked confounded.

"What are we gonna do exactly? I just thought we were gonna walk together." Axel face palmed.

"Sorry. Forgot to tell you ROXAS, we're heading to my place, like we always do to celebrate the back-to-school-thing." Roxas sighed but before he could make a comeback, Sora and Pence decided to show up.

"Hey guys. Are everybody ready?" A unison answering "yes" echoed through the corridors. Fuu just stood quiet behind Zexion and they headed out. On the schoolyard Axel stopped the moving group.

"Cigarette break." He fished the package out of a pocket and lit it. Demyx smiled towards him.

"Feeling generous?" Axel nodded and gave him the package and the lighter. Demyx lit one up as well and they started walking again. Zexion gave Demyx a sad look, making Demyx look guilty and he looked down on the cigarette, as if to figure out if it was worth it.

"I'm sorry." He mouthed towards the slate-haired younger teen who just shrugged his shoulders. Demyx hated making people sad, his conscience ate him up from the inside and for some reason he didn't understand it always made Zexion really sad when he smoked.

Fuu noticed all of this and felt like a thousand knifes cut through her heart.

Roxas was looking around at his friends and noticed that Zexion, for once, wasn't walking around with his nose in a book. It was also the first time he saw Pence without the laptop in his face. He looked like a nice guy now that you actually could see his face properly. He had really nice eyes.

"My brother may be home, or he will later on, but it's okay, he's cool as everybody except Roxy knows." Everybody laughed, except Roxas who gave Axel a killing glare.

"Oh, Roxy, of looks could kill…" Axel snickered. Roxas just continued glaring.

"If only… Don't ever call me_ Roxy_ again. Got **that **memorized!" Demyx cleared his throat.

"um.. Axel.. You forgot your chin on the ground…" Axel closed his mouth before grinning and flicking the cigarette end away.

"Wow. Got some sparks in that one. I like it. Got it memorized?" He winked towards Roxas who would've lost it again, if Sora hadn't put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. The blond took a deep breath and ignored Axel.

They walked for another ten minutes before Axel stopped in front of a big apartment building.

"Alrighty then! Here we are. Papou Lane 1308 B. Commit it to memory." Roxas looked up at the huge building. It was at least 7 stories high and had 4 entrances that he could see. Axel walked up to the second entrance that had a big black 'B' on top of the door. He opened the door and they went inside, up 5 pairs of stairs before they walked towards a brown door. Axel stuck a key into the keyhole and unlocked the door, letting everybody inside.

It was a really neat apartment, big and spacey and Roxas wondered how the hell they could afford it. His parents had looked at a house nearby in this block and it had been really expensive.

It was really nice there but something was missing. Somehow it felt empty.

"Where are your parents?" Roxas asked, while looking at some old photographs hanging on the wall, with what he guessed was the whole family. Two young boys, with equally red hair, the boy to the left's a little brighter. The boy to the right looked a little older and there was two grownups; a woman with a sweet smile and long strawberry blonde hair and a stoic man with dark hair and a moustache.

When a hand was laid on his shoulder he looked up. Zexion was standing there.

"Axel's parents died in a car crash three years ago. Axel lives here alone with his two year older brother Reno." Roxas bit his lip and glanced at Axel.

"I'm sorry." Axel just shook his head.

"Never mind. Who's up for some video games?" Demyx's hand immediately flew into the air and everybody laughed. They kicked their shoes off and headed into the living room, Demyx running in first, claiming a big recliner and a control, ready to kick some virtual ass. Roxas seated himself in one of the big grey comfy-looking couches and the others dropped in as they got of their shoes.

Axel fixed with some cords behind a huge ass TV before he pushed the 'on' button on the game and the intro started.

"Who wants something to drink?" Everybody nodded and Axel headed in to the kitchen, yelling for someone to help him carry the glasses. Since everybody was so engaged in the game, Roxas rose against his will and headed out in the kitchen. Axel was standing with his back towards him. But when did Axel tie his hair up?

Axel turned around and... It wasn't Axel. The unknown redhead waved towards him.

"'Ello. Can I help you with something…?" Roxas opened and closed his mouth; the gift of speaking momentarily left him. The redhead just raised an eyebrow and looked at him, waiting for an answer.

Roxas didn't know what to say. The redhead in front of him was so alike Axel it was scary. He had shorter hair than Axel in the front, and a long tail of red hair hanging from the back of his neck. His eyes weren't as green as Axel though.

Here Roxas's train of thoughts became interrupted by a voice behind him.

"I see you've met my older brother. Roxas, Reno. Reno, Roxas." The older redhead, Reno, waved.

"Nice to meet you Roxas." The blond nodded and Axel pushed him further in to the kitchen so he could get to the fridge. Reno left the room and walked into the living room, greeting Axel's friends.

Axel gave him a bunch of glasses and lifted two big jugs of juice and they headed into the living room, following Reno who had taken Roxas' seat on the couch and were talking casually to Zexion.

Demyx and Sora was in a fierce battle on the video game, Pence had his laptop up, doing god knows what and Fuu sitting quiet in a corner. Zexion laughed at something Reno said as Roxas handed out the glasses and Axel placed the jugs on the table.

Roxas seated himself on the armrest of the couch and smiled to himself. These people might be crazy, they may smoke, they may have dead parents and creepy siblings, heck they may be crazy themselves, but he still liked them. He had become attached to them over the day, which was weird being him, since he always had a really hard time letting people in to his life.

Maybe it had something to do with Sora's open nature, Axel's teasing or Demyx's optimism but they definitely made him happy. The way they had fun and laughed together made him all sentimental. As on a cue Zexion laughed, Demyx screamed at the videogame and Axel dropped a glass on the floor making everybody fall over with laughter.

Fuu on the other hand didn't feel all that sentimental. She saw the way Zexion laughed with Reno, the way he seemed so happy, so natural. Almost like he had so much to say when he usually hardly said anything.

It was like a whole new side of himself that he hid from her. Or maybe it was something the other's optimism and jokes triggered and lurked out of him. It wasn't like him and she wanted her friend back. The cautious boy, always there, an amazing listener when something had made her break. The quiet young man that he was when it was just the two of them.

Not that he wasn't a young man right now; he just wasn't who she was used to.

And the way Demyx screamed at the videogames almost drove her crazy and she was soon ready to kill. She really didn't like the older blond. He pushed her buttons in a way no one else managed. Maybe it was the fact that he seemed interested in Zexion, maybe it was his never-failing optimism that she lacked. She didn't know what it was but it was something. She decided to go before she snapped at someone.

She rose from her corner by the plant.

"I'm gonna head home." With those words she left the living room. Roxas looked after her. That was actually the first time he'd heard her talk

In the hallway Fuu started tying her shoes but of course she weren't allowed to do this all by herself; of course Zexion had to come out in the hallway. He just stood there and looked at her, big blue eyes sad.

"Fuu, what's wrong?" She shook her head.

"Nothing..." The slate haired boy crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorway.

"Come on, Fuu. I can see that something's bothering you. I know you…" His voice was so soft it almost made her cry.

"O_bviously_ you don't know me that good! Leave me alone fucktard!" She stormed out the door, leaving Zexion perplexed and alone in the hall. He drew a deep breath before walking in to the living room again where everybody stared at him in shock.

"She wasn't feeling that well." Everybody knew that he lied, since they had all heard Fuu's screaming, but nobody said anything. They didn't want to bother him; they all knew how much that must've hurt him. Every one of them knew how good friends he and Fuu were, how much she meant to him.

Demyx broke the silence after Zexion's words

"You wanna play..?" He extended the control towards the slate-haired boy who just smiled faintly and shook his head.

"No thank you, Demyx." Axel rose.

"Let's smoke!" He opened the balcony door and walked out, everybody following him. Roxas wondered why he followed since he didn't smoke, but when he was outside it felt nice. A warm breeze rustled their hair and clothes, extinguishing Axel's lighter.

The redhead sighed and lit it again, this time able to actually light the cigarette as well. Demyx reached for one too, but drew back his hand when he saw Zexion, sitting on a chair looking at the view, not even noticing what the others did, completely in his own world.

Demyx placed himself in front of the younger man and went down on his knees.

"Hey Zex, are you okay..?" Zexion shook his head, as if to get back to reality before he smiled faintly again and looked at the blond.

"Yes Demyx. I'm okay, just a little tired." Demyx made a sad face and stroked Zexion's cheek before rising again and joined Axel's and Reno's discussion about lighters.

Axel extended the cigarette package towards Roxas, who were just standing in a corner.

"Want one?" Roxas just raised an eyebrow, as if asking if the redhead was kidding with him. Axel shrugged his shoulders and put the package in his pocket again, after Demyx took one anyway. Zexion rose and placed himself between Demyx and Reno.

"May… I have one..?" Demyx's jaw hit the floor and Axel looked like he'd seen an alien before he extended the package towards the youngest of them and Zexion took one, lit it and coughed. Demyx smiled and patted his back.

"Careful Zexion, we want you alive out of this." Zexion made a thumb up and coughed some more before he took another drag. He soon got the hang of it and they stood there, laughing and talking, with the video game waiting for them inside.

Roxas smiled. He could live with this. He liked this. Well, except the smoke. But he could live with that too. He finally had some friends, and maybe this year wouldn't be as bad as the previous ones.

The others finished their cigarettes of and they headed in. Zexion stood still a few seconds in the middle of the room before he nodded to himself.

"You know what guys... I should head home. It's getting late and my parents probably wonder where I am." Demyx nodded.

"Yeah… I gotta get home too. Can I walk with you Zexion?" The slate haired boy nodded and Roxas went after them into the hall.

"I should get home too." The tied their shoes, grabbed coats and bags and walked out the door. Zexion and Demyx were going in the opposite direction from Roxas so they departed and Roxas walked off with the sunset in his back, smiling to himself.


	3. Chapter 3 Hate Me

**A/N:**** I don't own Kingdom Hearts, except my own legally bought copy of the game. Neither do I own the song Hate me by Blue October, nor Ohio is for lovers by Hawthorne Heights nor This Picture by Placebo.**

**Finally I do not own Perfect by Simple Plan or Shame on me by Marit Bergman. **

**I think that is everything but if I forgot anything; I probably don't own that either.**

**This chapter can be sensitive to some people since it is about the characters home lives and some of them ain't the best. Thought it be best to give a fair warning.**

* * *

**Chapter 3 Hate me**

_Make a porno feel like home_

Darkness was falling over Hollow bastion. Everything was at peace. Or at least as peaceful as a big city can get. There was a few stray people out walking, searching for something that might make them find a meaning. Find thoughts that were long gone in a world without love. People who ran away from homes, lovers, parents, wife-beaters or robbers. It was a wicked world.

It wasn't as perfect and idyllic as people wanted to believe, and if they saw anything that didn't fit their world-picture, they turned their heads away; pretending not to see what was going on right in front of them.

They didn't want to see that they were wrong, even though they knew they were. Even if they pretended that they had happy lives, they still knew they all were alone in a cold, cruel _hostile_ world, where everybody only looked out for themselves.

If a hobo almost choked on the street you could bet that no one would help him or her. They would just walk by as if nothing happened, as if no one, if fact, were almost losing their life just where they were walking.

Life; such a fragile thing, so easy to lose and only something you have once. So many people eager to take it before nature had its natural course.

If someone sat on a bench, crying, you could be sure no one would walk to that person, asking what was wrong, asking if something had happened. They would just look down at the person, with disgust in their eyes, on the fact that someone actually managed to show some real feelings in a plastic world.

_Hate me today.  
Hate me tomorrow._

_Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you_

Everybody lived stressful lives where they only had time to care about themselves, and if someone disturbed this, they were just ignored. Plain and simple.

_(I wrote a poem that describe our world)_

_What's wrong with this picture?  
What's wrong with this picture?_

Some people are looking, searching for something. They want something to fill up the emptiness inside of them that someone or something caused. It may have been themselves, their parents, a friend. An old lover. Perhaps it was you who caused it. But you're searching as well so you don't remember it.

Maybe you don't remember that little girl you saw three years ago on the street, desperate for a few coins. Maybe it's the druggies at your school, desperate for something, but thinking they already found what they were looking for in drugs. Never knowing how wrong they were.

The night was falling, people settling down to have dinner, smiling and laughing at each other. Dinners: as normal families did.

Then there were those that weren't allowed to have dinners like normal families did. Some of them found love in other ways.

_That makes a porno feel like home._

In the darkness that started to surround the world of Hollow Bastion, in the outskirts, on the border between Hollow Bastion and its suburbs Radiant Garden, Starlight High laid. From a window the lights were on, shining warmly, breaking the coldness of the night.

Lips smacked together, desperate for touch: longing for each other after being parted for all summer. His hands were all over her thin body, tracing kisses over her neck. The bruises covering her body seemed like there was more than usual, making him sad because he knew it was his own fault. If he only could be there for her when the school was out even though they both knew he couldn't. He couldn't protect her when she needed it the most, from the people who should be there for her and support her.

The teacher's lounge was empty except for the young loving couple. He knew that if anyone would enter the room he would be fried. Found in bed with one of his students and the fact that she was a minor didn't exactly make things look better for him. The only thing he could say in his own defence was that he loved her.

Not that her parents would care. They were the one who caused the bruises painting her body cascades of purple, blue, green and flesh.

Her lips played like butterflies over his bare torso, working their way up against his neck, face. Lips ghosted over his chin whispering a thin "I've missed you" in his ear. He knew that she meant it with every cell in her whole body. Everything in her screamed it to him, even if the words were just a mere whispering.

A hot water drop hit his shoulder and he stopped kissing her.

"Hey… How are you…?" The girl just shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I've missed you… so much.. I've needed you, and you weren't there. You're never there.. You're just here, and then I stay late and things get even worse." He gently stroked her silky hair.

_Until I saw your blue eyes cry_

_And I held your face in my hands_

"There there baby. You know I love you, even though I can't always help." It was true. He couldn't help her and he always felt so bad when she came to him after school hours, beaten and bruised.

She leaned her head against his chest, tears rolling off her nose and cheeks on him but he didn't mind. He gently stroked her back. This was the least he could do. She soon fell asleep and he smiled to himself. He would let her sleep there for a while, he knew when she had to get home but until then she could sleep. He pulled out a blanket and draped her in it before going back to the table and went through a few home works.

-Kairi's POV-

_An ounce of peace is all I want for you  
Will you never call again?_

After waving a final goodbye to Naminé, I sighed and opened the front door. My house was one of the larger on the block, the off white exterior and blue shutters, the big tree in the front yard, the trimmed hedges fencing the yard in, it all seemed like the perfect dream house.

Inside though, it was anything but perfect.

I knew the before I even set foot over the threshold that nobody was home. It wasn't the empty driveway, or the lack of voices inside, but something deeper. I always knew the house was empty because my parents were rarely home. They never called, and they never left notes saying when they'd be back or where they went.

What little I _did_ see of them, though, was anything but nice.

Mom was obsessed with her business career, hardly taking the time to say hello before she disappeared for days on end, and dad…he was always out with a new bimbo every night, coming home late, usually after I've gone to bed. I felt kind of bad since mom once told me that my being born had disrupted their lives and ruined the delicate balance of their relationship.

All I really wanted was for them to get along, and for us to be a normal family. Then again, what was really normal?

I shut the door on the streaming rays of sunlight from the afternoon. Radiant Garden, the suburbia of Hollow Bastion, was always beautiful, and I wondered wildly what other kinds of dark secrets the pretty sights covered.

I paused by the mirror in the entryway as I set my books down. My perfect reflection stared back at me. Rosy cheeks, bright eyes, fluffy hair, smudge-free makeup. I was still glowing over finally achieving my goal of making Riku mine, but that still didn't keep the quiet of the house, of my loneliness, from creeping up on me.

With a huff, I whirled away from the mirror, dismissing my thoughts with a wave. I prided myself on keeping things together. Just like mom. She always had a handle on things, and I always did my best to follow her example. Never take no for an answer, never back down, always go for what you want until it's yours…it was like my creed…

But I still wish that, just once, we could all three sit together for dinner like a real family…

Wish that, just once, my parents would say that they loved me…just so I knew they did.

_And will you never say that you love me,_

_Just to put it in my face?_

-Roxas' POV-

_And with a sad heart_

_I say bye to you and wave_

Standing in the empty kitchen, I started humming, trying to fill the void of silence. Other than my tuneless song, the soft crackle of something burning off the burner under the pan I had on the stove was the only sound. I'd come home after hanging out with Axel and the others. That had been the most fun I'd had in a long while.

I was a bit sad that my parents were still gone. They travelled a lot, and I hardly got to see them at all. The short times that we spent together were great, and I wished that they would last longer…or at least occur more often.

After getting home, I'd ditched my backpack in the hall and gone straight into the kitchen to make dinner for myself. After all, one couldn't concentrate and do homework on an empty stomach, right?

I switched the stove-top off and pulled the pan away. I poured the noodles into my awaiting bowl and sighed as I watched the steam curl into the air for a moment. I recalled the last time my parents had been home, just after we'd moved…

I'd made us dinner and had thought it was going to be a good night…but mom and dad had started fighting about the living arrangements and I'd gotten involved, saying I wasn't a baby and could take care of myself, and the night ended with us yelling at each other and storming away.

When I'd woken the next morning, they were gone.

And they hadn't been back since.

_Kicking shadows on the street_

_For every mistake that I had made_

I settled down with my meal at the long, bare dining table. I looked around the empty room, feeling a heavy weight on my heart, my chest getting tight. I didn't like the feeling, so I tried to distract myself by eating.

It didn't help.

Tears slowly dripped into the bowl, causing small ripples in the minute amount of broth cradling the pile of pasta. I missed my parents. I missed being around people period.

I missed being loved.

"I'm sorry…I was wrong…I'm not grown up yet," I murmured, choking a bit on a sob. I dropped my fork and leaned forward, covering my face, letting the tears come. I needed a good cry about now.

_And like a baby boy_

_I never was a man_

-Sora's POV-

_There's a burning in my pride_

The second I walked in the door, I heard the familiar call.

"Welcome home, Sora."

I grinned and carefully set my texts and notebooks on the entryway table, leaning down to untie my shoes and set them neatly next to my mom's. I skipped down the hall to the kitchen and smiled at my mom. Her back was to me as she stirred something that smelled _really_ good in a bubbling pot. Her long chestnut-colored hair was tied back, the ends just barely brushing her lower back as she turned around to face me. Her dark brown eyes were warm and welcoming.

"You have homework to do, don't you?" she asked as she bent down to kiss my forehead before returning to dinner.

"Yeah," I answered, grabbing an apple out of the bowl we kept on the counter. "I just wanted to grab a snack before I go up to my room." I took a big bite, chewing thoughtfully before swallowing. "We got a new kid, today."

"Hm, that's nice. What's he like?" she asked absently, reaching into the cupboard above her head to pull out some seasonings.

I shrugged and took another bite of the apple, pausing to wipe some of the juice off my chin. "He's cool. Kinda funny. He's always making a fool of himself. He's so clumsy." I laughed at the memory of Roxas running into everybody, tripping over his own feet and so on.

My mom sighed. "You'd better go on and get your homework done before your father gets home." She added something else to the brewing pot before continuing. "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes, and that's plenty of time for you to get done."

I nodded and tossed the core into the trash before returning to retrieve my books and climbing the stairs to my room. I lay on my bed, spreading the papers out in front of me. Not only did I have my own homework to do, but I had everyone else's to do too. I sighed. Oh well, might as well get started and stop complaining.

A knock on my bedroom door brought me back to the real world and I sat up, hearing my back and neck pop. My dad pushed the door open. He stood tall, a bit on the slender side, but he always said that brains counted more than brawn. He was still dressed in his dress shirt, tie, and black slacks he wore to work every day. With his index finger, he pushed his glasses back up his nose and stared at me with remonstrating blue eyes.

"You're going to fall behind in your studies if you keep up this lazy pace, Sora." He informed me quietly. I nodded.

"Yes, sir."

He watched me for a moment before sighing. "Come on, dinner's ready. You can finish later." The disappointment in his voice made me shrivel a little on the inside. My pride hurt. And worse, my dad disappointed in me.

_A nervous bleeding in my brain_

Sitting in my usual spot across from my mom, dad on my left, I listened to the quiet chatter between the two adults about some upcoming experiment. I spooned another mouthful of the delicious stew mom had prepared and sighed in contentment at the warm, tasty dish.

"Sora, I gave you plenty of time to finish your homework." Mom interrupted my thoughts and I felt my face grow hot in embarrassment. Obviously, dad had told her about my folly.

"Ah, yeah, sorry I…spaced out a bit." I offered lamely, swirling my spoon around and around the thick concoction sitting before me, slowly sinking lower and lower into my chair. I hated it when they got like this. Usually we had a great time, talking about all kinds of interesting things at dinner, watching the Science Channel afterwards and having a great time doing that…

But sometimes, when I fell behind, even the slightest bit, like today, they got on my case. It made me feel like disappearing. Made me wish my amazing brain would just explode and leave me a vegetable, ridding me of all expectations.

They continued to stare me down, mom's eyes darkened and dad shaking his head slightly.

I pushed my bowl away from me and asked to be excused. Their shared sigh made me wince visibly, but they let me go, and I ran up to my room, no longer hungry. I eyed the stack of papers I had yet to do, but I wasn't in the mood for that right now either.

Fisting my hands in my blankets, I buried my face in my pillow, wishing I could be a normal kid for one day. Just one day. Instead of the genius son of two accomplished scientists.

_It was I that wanted space_

_Demyx's PoV_

_So I'll drive so fucking far away that I never cross your mind_

_And do whatever it takes in your heart to leave me behind._

I and Zexion broke up by the river, walking our separate ways to our own homes. It was late and I was probably late for dinner too, but hopefully no one would care. I walked the short way to the house that I lived in with my parents. The door creaked silently when I opened it. It needed some serious amount of oil but my dad had never bothered to fix it.

I closed the door behind me and looked up. My parents were sitting in the living room watching TV. I kicked my dirty shoes off as I greeted them. My mom answered me with a curt "Hello Demykins. Dinner is in the kitchen, it's just to reheat it" to caught up in her game boy game. My dad didn't answer me, but that didn't surprise me. He hardly ever did.

But then just as I walked into the kitchen I heard him from the other room.

"I'm happy that you remember that you have a home." His voice was cold, screaming of irony and I had to grit my teeth at the pain the words brought me. Of course I remembered I had a home, but how fun was it to be home when nobody cared what I actually did? My dad was always stuck in front of his computer and mom never had time, always working, making dinner, cleaning, sleeping or playing video games of her own.

Couldn't he be happy for me that I actually had friends that I liked to hang out with now, knowing I went through a hard time in middle school, always being bullied and nobody that liked me?

It never mattered what I did, no one had time to care anyway. It was with a heavy heart I remembered that time when he totally ignored me for three days, not talking to me at all what so ever, ignoring everything I said, and if I started saying something to mom, he interrupted me and started to talk about something else.

He wasn't always like this. I could remember when I was a kid and he used to play with me, calling me his big boy.

_And it feels like you don't care anymore._

_Did you know you used to be my hero?_

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore his stinging comment and headed of to the kitchen, prepared some dinner on a plate and shoved it into the microwave, warming it for two minutes before heading off to my room, turning on my laptop. Hopefully someone would be online that I could talk to.

I didn't bother to check my homework; I almost never did. It's funny that I got so good grades having that in mind. I just didn't have the energy for it, physical or mental. The microwave oven beeped and I went in, grabbing my plate and headed back to my room, leaving the door open behind me.

I like my door. When we repainted my room one and a half years ago I got to paint the door and write on it too, so now I have a bunch of song lyrics and other things like that on it.

The memory made me smile and I went through my messenger list, finding no one to talk too. Fuu was online, but I got the impression that she didn't really like me. I turned on some music and ate my food while I stared at the computer screen waiting for someone to get online. My dad walked up to my door, closed it with a band and a sigh and I heard his footsteps head back into the living room.

I sighed sadly, not feeling hungry anymore so I left my place and seated myself in front of the TV, turning on a video game.

_You could screw your whole life up_

_And I would still love you to death._

_(_Not really_)_

I just wanted my dad to show me some kind of affection, instead of the ever-present coldness he showed. To other people he played a role, pretending to care and all that, but when it was just the three of us he couldn't care less.

He used to work with kids who had a hard time is school earlier but his contract ceased. He really liked that job. Too bad he didn't care as much about me as he did with the kids he worked with, not seeing how I felt. He walked around unemployed for two years before he got a new job. He was a real pain in the ass as unemployed but he was even worse when he actually had a job.

I missed my dad as he used to be when I was a kid. I can't remember the last time he said that he loved me.

My mom is nice, I can talk to her, but I still missed him.

"_I'm here for you if you'd only care."_

(No. You're not. You've never been there.)

I became so caught up in my video game I totally forgot about the clock and soon my mom knocked on my door, telling me that she were heading of to bed. A quick glance at the clock and I realised it was really late. I told her goodnight and decided to call it a night too.

I took my plate to the kitchen and then made myself ready for bed. Before closing the door and turning of the lights I bid my father goodnight, as always. And as always all I got was a short cold un-interested "Goodnight."

_Hate me today  
Hate me tomorrow_

_Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you._

_Aerith's PoV_

_In a sick way, I want to thank you, for holding my head up late at night, _

_While I was busy waging wars on myself, you were trying to stop the fight._

Aerith walked the short way from the school home. She liked her job as a nurse on the local high school. The students were nice, some of them just dropping by for a chance to talk, others that had hurt themselves in some weird way. Any way she liked them, always had a few nice words to exchange.

She fished her keys out of her small bag and unlocked the door to the apartment, opened it and walked inside. A chubby white and grey cat walked towards her and started to walk around her legs, purring. She smiled.

"Hey Furrball, how was your day?" Not that the cat would answer her but if offered some kind of company. She left the keys in a small key house, hanging her coat on a hook and walked into the kitchen.

"Come on Furrball; let's get you something to eat." She stopped by living room, looking at her goldfish that swum around in a glass bowl. She smiled and dropped some fish food in the bowl. Furrball's meow brought her back to reality and she smiled towards the cat.

"I know. You're hungry too... Come on then…!" She walked to the kitchen, picked up the deep plate she used for Furrball's food and filled it before picking up the water bowl and filled it as well with fresh water. The cat purred happily and she leaned against the counter, crossing her arms.

"This is nice Furrball, but something is really missing. It feels so empty in here." The cat just ignored her, happy to have food and she smiled and shook her head before she started to prepare dinner for herself.

A few hours later she sat down on her queen-size bed and looked around. The apartment really was too big for her alone. She used to live with her old boyfriend, but when they broke up he moved, leaving her alone with a big two room apartment.

She wanted something to fill up the space the he'd left. She thought Furrball and Clown would do the trick but she was so wrong.

She kicked off her slippers, sinking down between the heavenly soft sheets and it didn't take long before Furrball jumped in too, cuddling up next to the back of her knees and she soon fell asleep.

-Fuu's POV-

_You never doubted my warped opinions_

_On things like suicidal hate_

I slammed the door shut with an ugly curse, glad that dad wasn't home to lecture me about letting my temper get away with me. Stupid Demyx, being all fun. Stupid Zexion, being all sweet to him.

Stupid me for keeping all my feelings to myself.

I threw my backpack in some random direction, uncaring of the crash that sounded behind me as I stalked down the hall to my room. I kicked my door open and sat heavily down at my desk, booting up my laptop.

Once it was on, I signed on, wondering if anybody was on, but not really caring. I sat, browsing through random websites until I saw an alert, saying _Demyx_ of all people had signed in.

"God, why is it always _him_?" I turned the laptop off and slammed it closed in disgust. I was in a nearly homicidal state of mind. And that only irritated me more because a small voice in the back of my head told me that Demyx would never get so worked up about something so small.

I stood and kicked my chair over with a frustrated cry.

My anger spent, I fell face first onto my bed with a sigh. I was sick of hiding my feelings, but I just didn't have the guts to confess to Zexion, and risk losing him as a friend. Why did life have to be so complicated? Why did I have to be such a coward? Such an angry person, whereas Demyx always had a ready smile and a laugh.

"Gah, I need to quit comparing myself to him!" I mussed my hair with both hands, hearing my dad come in and call my name.

I jumped out of my room and met him in the hall, giving the burly man a brutal hug, inhaling the smell of sweat and soap. He was tall, stocky, dark-haired and had kind, if weary, violet eyes.

He was quiet for a moment, holding me close before pulling away. "How you feel about going out to eat?"

I smiled up at him. "Really? We haven't gone out in a while! That'd be cool."

"Consider it a congratulation for surviving the first day of school." He grabbed my sweater hanging on the wooden peg jutting out of the wall. "C'mon, I have to get to work at my second job at eight, so we'll have to make this quick."

I didn't care that he would have to go to work immediately afterwards, I was just glad that we got to spend time together. Going out was a special treat, since money in our house was tight, what with dad being a single parent and working two jobs.

_You made me compliment myself_

_When it was way too hard to take_

"Dad…do you think I'm a coward?" I asked as I stared out at the houses and street signs whizzing past as we drove to a local restaurant.

He gave me a strange look and laughed. "Of course I don't, sweetie."

"Do you think I'm a…cold-hearted bitch?" I forced out.

"Fuu!" my father said in an appalled tone. "Why ever would you think that?"

"But do _you_ think it's true?" I asked.

He was quiet for a moment, staring ahead as he continued driving. Finally, he said quietly. "Fuu…cold-hearted people don't hug their fathers when they come home. They don't smile, laugh, or cry. They just hate. And you don't do that."

I sat back and closed my eyes, feeling a soft smile tug at the corners of my mouth.

"And besides, a bitch is a female dog, and dogs bark, bark is found on trees, trees are nature, and natures is beautiful." I blinked over at my dad as he laughed, pounding his fist on the side of the steering wheel. "So, you just complimented yourself, sweetie."

Shaking my head, I joined in with the laughter. My dad was the best. He always knew what to say to take the weight off of me. He wasn't just my dad…he was also one of my best friends.

_Riku's PoV_

_I have to block out thoughts of you so I don't lose my head  
They crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed  
Dropping little reels of tape to remind me that I'm alone_

It was with heavy steps Riku walked his way home. He hated his home. His dad always pushing him, wanting him to be the best in everything and if he failed, things got bad. It was not like his dad hit him or anything. He didn't abuse him. Not physically anyway.

No, this was another sort of abuse; the verbal kind. And sometimes he wondered if that wasn't worse, but it probably weren't. If he failed getting first place on swim practise, or if he didn't beat his personal record or lost a contest, if he failed to get an A on a test or an essay, his dad would just look at him and say "I'm disappointed with you Riku. I thought we raised you better."

It always made the silver haired teen feel horrible. His father really knew how to wear him down. What child would want to make their parents disappointed? He knew he didn't, it really cut his conscience to little pieces. The problem were just that his dad always were disappointed; whatever he did to please him, it just ended up wrong.

His mom didn't really care about what happened to him. She was to busy making sure her tan and looks were perfect.

When he came home he noticed that nobody was in, so when he closed the door he leaned over and just screamed; screamed out his agony and pain. There was a moment of silence before running steps where heard in the stair and Riku's younger brother Mickey showed up.

"Riku… What's wrong…?" Riku quickly looked at his brother and smiled. He liked Mickey… he was the only one it this family that wasn't completely out of his mind, except the fact that he desperately searched for their parents attention, wanting them to notice him, when they only cared about Riku's fails and success.

"Nothing. I'm fine. I'm sorry if I scared you, I thought no one was home." Mickey raised an eyebrow and Riku smiled before ruffling his brother's light blue hair.

"Common, let's get something to eat."

(_To remind me that I'm alone)_

-Namine's POV-

_Farewell the ashtray girl_

_Forbidden snowflake_

"Hey, sweetie, have a good day at school?" my mom asked the instant I came down for dinner. Only to find that none had been prepared.

After parting ways with Kairi, I'd come home and found a note on the counter from my mom saying that she'd gone out for a bit and would be back. So, I'd taken my homework upstairs and did that, then drew in my sketchbook idly for a good hour when I heard movement downstairs.

"Yeah…it was okay." I answered, opening the fridge and pulling out lunch meat and cheese for a sandwich. It was better than nothing, and I didn't feel much like cooking. Especially when I was the only one who would be eating.

"Well, I'm glad." She patted her blonde hair, checking her face in the reflective surface of the kitchen window. She was dressed in a tight, short black dress that showed off her pale, shapely legs and a generous amount of cleavage. I looked down to the floor, not wanting to stare and saw that she was also wearing six inch heels to compensate for her height deficiency. A deficiency I shared.

I watched her primp and preen for a few more moments, pulling out two slices of bread and assembling my simple meal. "You're going out tonight?"

"Like every night." She answered with a smile, gently ruffling my hair a bit. "I'll be home before midnight, though, so don't wait up for me."

"Okay," I turned to leave the room with my sandwich, pausing in the darkened hall to hear my mom sigh, then gather up her things and leave the house.

_Beware this troubled world,_

Ever since my parents got divorced, mom had been desperately searching for someone to fill the empty place my dad had left. He had already remarried and was happily settled down. I guess mom couldn't handle him being happy while she was miserable, when _he_ was the one who had cheated and ruined our lives.

I suppose I couldn't really blame her for wanting someone of her own…but I hated it when she brought strange men home with her. They frightened me, all of them. And most tried their best to be nice to me, while others, once they saw that my mom had me, became uncomfortable and left as quickly as they could.

Finishing my dinner, I went into the living room and sat on the couch, staring at the blank screen of the television and thinking. Mostly about how well the first day of school had gone. I got to spend more time with Kairi, not that we didn't spend plenty of time together during the summer, and all the others in our group. School was home to me, not this place where strange people came and went, my mother among them. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother, she's all I have, but I just don't understand her sometimes.

And Rai…Rai had been so nice to me today, walking with me, the two of us just talking. He was so handsome. And the thought that he might be interested in me made me blush even now.

Even if we ended up dating, which would be nice, having someone there for me when I needed them, I swore to myself then and there that I would be cautious.

After all, I didn't want to end up like my mother.

_Watch out for earthquakes._

Zexion's PoV

_We know we miss her, we miss her picture. _

Zexion walked the road towards the buildings where he lived with his foster parent. The foster parent, James, was a nice man in his late 30'ies, a single man who had adopted Zexion, feeling sorry for the young boy that had been abandoned by his parents at the age of 4. They had lived together ever since, having more of a friend relationship than a father/son one.

The slate-haired teen unlocked the door and entered the small apartment. James looked out from the kitchen, smiling at the sight of him.

"Hello Zexion. Did you have a good day?" Said teen nodded.

"yeah. It was a good one. We got a new guy in our class, he seems like a nice guy, even though he's a little clumsy and maybe not the brightest but he still seems nice. After school we hung out at Axel's place. That was also fun, but Fuu acted a little weird. She seemed sad for some reason." James nodded.

"Well, come in to the kitchen. Dinner is almost ready. If you have any homework you can do it while waiting for dinner to get ready." Zexion nodded and seated himself on a chair by the kitchen table, taking out some books from his bag.

James danced around in the kitchen fixing with pots and pans, making the table, mixing a salad and a bunch of other things while Zexion did his homework in silence.

He closed the book at the same time as the egg clock rang, signalling that dinner was ready. A usual routine at its best.

They settled down and ate their dinner, joking and talking. Zexion liked his life with how it was. James was a really nice man and they had fun even though he sometimes missed his parents. He couldn't remember how they were or how they looked like. But the feeling on having real, biological parents, a real mom and a real dad.

It was thirteen years ago since they left him as an orphan and James picked him up. He liked James, it wasn't that that was the problem; he just wished he could get a chance to meet his real parents.

If he could remember what they were like to save his life. No faces, no voices, no nothing. And it made him sad that he couldn't remember the people that he lived with for four years, the people who had raised him. It made him sad that he couldn't even remember their names.

_Sometimes it's faded, __disintegrated._

After dinner, he helped James to wash the dishes and take things away before they went into the living room. James smiled towards the teen.

"I've rented a movie if you're not too tired?" Zexion smiled and nodded.

"A movie sounds good. I'm just gonna call Fuu and see how she's doing." James nodded and Zexion went to his room.

_("Hi Justin, this is your mother, and it's 2:33 on Monday afternoon.  
I was just calling to see how you __were doing.  
You sounded really uptight last night.  
It made me a little nervous, and I... and... well... it made me nervous, it sounded like you were nervous, too.  
I just wanted to make sure you were really OK")_

Zexion sat down on his bed and browsed through his phone book, reaching 'F', finding Fuu's number and hit the dial button.

One signal… two signals… three sign…

"Hello?"

"Hi Fuu, it's me."

"oh… Hi there."

"Hi.. How are you? You seemed sad earlier.. Is there anything you want to talk about..?" The line was quiet for a while before the answer came.

"no.. I'm fine."

"Are you sure…?"

"…" Silence was so thick you could almost taste it and he couldn't stop it. Him waiting for an answer and Fuu refusing to give that answer. In the end Fuu soon had enough.

"Good bye Zexion…" She whispered voice so incredibly thin and hung up. Zexion looked at the phone for a long while before slowly closing it and walked out into the living room again.

"Hey James..?" The dark haired man looked up from the movie he was holding in his hands.

"I'm gonna go to sleep anyway… I'm tired and I'm not feeling so well." James nodded.

"Alrighty then. Sleep tight." Zexion nodded back and turned around and went back into his room.

_If you're sleeping are you dreaming?_

_Fuu's PoV (again)_

_Because you kill me.  
You know you do, you kill me well._

"Are you sure you'll be alright by yourself?" her dad asked as he always did. Every night.

Fuu smiled at the man over her shoulder as she headed up the short walkway to the front door. "I'll be fine." She assured, giving a small wave as her dad nodded and backed out of the drive, disappearing down the street.

She wandered into the house, patting her stomach. She'd just had dinner with her dad, but something was missing. Feeling peckish, Fuu went to the kitchen and rooted around in the icebox, pulling out a small carton half-full of melted, and refrozen, ice-cream. Dessert! That's what was missing!

Running her spoon under the hot water tap, Fuu started tapping her foot, eager to dig into her treat. After she'd served herself a heaping bowl, she tossed the empty carton and made her way back into the living room.

"It's always so quiet..." Fuu mumbled, sitting back in the couch, spoon hanging out of the corner of her mouth. The bowl cradled in her hands was cold, and she alternated hands to keep them both from being frozen as she thought about the lingering silence.

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence like one would think when faced with an empty house alone. Instead, it was…nice. She had some time to herself. Sometimes that was a good thing. Especially when she had a lot to think about.

She'd calmed considerably from her fit this afternoon, and now felt drained and sheepish. Fuu prided herself on remaining distant and cool. She'd lost it today, in front of everyone. What must Zexion think? She'd just run away.

Spooning more ice-cream into her mouth, Fuu sighed. It wasn't like there was anything she could do about it now, it was over. Done with. No reason worrying over something you can't change.

The phone rang, startling her out of her inner monologue, and Fuu stared at the handset for a moment. Curious as to who was calling at this time of night.

She took another delicious bite of ice-cream before bringing the phone up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hi Fuu, it's me."

The dull sound of her bowl hitting the floor as it fell through her suddenly numb fingers hardly registered in Fuu's stunned mind. _Zexion._

She slowly sat up, pulling the spoon out of her mouth. "Oh…Hi there." Why was Zexion calling? Not that Fuu minded all that much…she liked the sound of his voice. Especially when it was laced with concern, as it was now. Concern for _her_.

At the same time, Fuu wanted to just hang up; wishing that she'd never answered the phone.

"Hi…how are you? You seemed sad earlier…is there anything you wanted to talk about…?"

Fuu felt her throat close off at those words. So, Zexion _had_ noticed something was wrong. How well he knew her indeed. But…but this was her chance. He'd given her the opportunity to confess. She could just come out and say it, say how she felt. It certainly explained her actions earlier today.

But…

"No…I'm fine." She lied.

"Are you sure…?"

No. But it was the only answer she could give.

Silence stretched on between them as Zexion patiently waited for Fuu to speak. She shifted uncomfortably where she sat, waging an inner battle with herself. Her rational half told her to keep her mouth shut, just leave things be. But her heart was demanding that she release the load of held back feeling that had been weighing it down for the past three years.

Finally, there was a winner. Her rational half.

Though her heart screamed not to, Fuu forced the words out. A single tear slid down her face as she whispered, "Good bye, Zexion…" then hung up, one hand coming up to cover her mouth and stifle the building sobs.

She cried.

That was the first thing Fuu did after she hung up on Zexion. She cried. Cried like her heart was breaking, which it essentially was. Why couldn't she just say it? Why did she have to hide? Her feelings were bottled up inside, growing in intensity until she felt she was ready to burst at the seams.

Her unspoken love was slowly eating her alive. It would be so simple to say it aloud…and yet, it would be so hard. What if Zexion didn't return her feelings? A confession would forever ruin the special bond they shared.

Fuu sank down into the couch, staring at the abandoned phone on the coffee table, debating on calling Zexion back and pouring her heart out. Of course, she wouldn't do it. And so she would remain, slouched in the living room in the small house, alone. Not even daddy could fix this with kind words and silly jokes. No, this was something she had to handle on her own.

But how?

Sighing, she fell onto her side, staring out into the rapidly darkening room. She couldn't keep it to herself forever…but it would have to be that way for now…she had to somehow gauge how deep Zexion's feeling ran before she made any move to confess.

She would die a little on the inside every day, but however long it took, she'd wait.

After all, only fools rush in.

_You like it too, and I can tell.  
You never stop until my final breath is gone_.


	4. Chapter 4 Of Online chatting and history

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, or either of the aforementioned's characters. They are the copyrighted property of Disney and Squeenix

* * *

**Chapter 4 Of**** online chatting and history projects**

Time wore on as Roxas became better friends with everybody. Already a week had passed in the first semester, and things were finally beginning to settle into a routine.

Sitting with their lab partners in Vexen's Chemistry class, the students of Starlight High were slumped over, writing copious notes, sleeping, or, as a certain redhead was doing, messing with things they _really_ shouldn't be messed with.

Axel curiously sniffed at the vial he held in one hand. It smelled flammable…if that made any sense. So he added it to the solution he was currently creating in a boiling vat on the burner in the centre of the counter lab he shared with Demyx.

Demyx, in turn, sat slouched on his stool, head resting on the counter top as he stared blankly up at the chalkboard where their creepy-ass teacher, Vexen, wrote some complex chemical formula. He wasn't all that interested in the class. _When the hell in life am I going to need the memorization of the periodic table of the elements?_ He thought to himself with a heavy sigh. He was so _bored_.

In front of Demyx and Axel, who was still mixing things that probably should never be combined, the dark-haired jock, Rai, sat with his lab partner, Seifer, who wore his usual blue beanie that covered his blond hair. The two rarely spoke to each other, but they cooperated enough to pass the class…well, hardly. Rai wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, and Seifer just plain didn't give a rat's ass.

Rai was snoring rather loudly, drooling a bit on the black counter top, while Seifer glared off into middle space. Demyx sighed again and turned his head to look over at Axel, who had a vial in each hand and an overflowing vat in front of him. The redhead looked like a possessed, evil scientist with that wicked grin and almost satanic glint in his green eyes.

_That hardly looks safe…_ Demyx thought fuzzily, making no move to stop Axel.

Suddenly, the strange, green concoction bubbled over and, as Demyx's eyes widened, Axel jumped up in alarm and picked the vat up, holding it away from his face…which unfortunately aimed it right at the backs of Rai and Seifer's heads.

With a rather disturbing "boof", the fuzzy, lime green stuff shot out like it'd been fired from a cannon, covering both boys in a sulphuric smelling substance that was, dare Demyx think it? The color of boogers… hehe.

"Whoops," Axel said, laughing and totally ruining any sincerity there might have been in the statement. Rai had fallen from his stool to the floor with an ugly curse, and Seifer was on his feet, trying to wipe away the nasty ooze, but only managing to spread it over himself more. "My bad,"

Demyx sat up, holding his stomach as he laughed like a maniac. Now _this_ was interesting. The blond held up a hand for a high-five, Axel immediately obliging with a snicker of his own. Everybody was staring, but neither noticed nor cared.

Seifer glared at them both and, jabbing a finger at Axel, he snarled, "You. Me. Lunch time."

Blinking blankly at the angry boy, Axel turned and shared a 'wtf?' look with Demyx, who shrugged, then giggled.

"Sounds like a line I once heard in a porno." Demyx laughed.

Axel snorted and turned back to Seifer. "That's a nice offer…but you aren't my type, Seifer-baby."

Vexen appeared from nowhere next to the four boys, making them all jump in surprise. Long, ice-blond hair framed a sharp face dominated by a sadistic looking smile and acid green eyes. "Are we going to have problems, gentlemen?" he asked in an icy-cold tone.

"Um… no sir." Demyx managed to stutter out, afraid that Vexen was going to eat them.

He glanced over at Rai and Seifer, his mouth curving into a disturbing grin. "Axel…I expect you to clean up your mess…and I trust you won't do something so foolish in the future…" he cast one more long, amused look at the stinky, green-coated boys before whirling away, emitting a laugh that made infants cry.

_Teens too,_ Axel and Demyx thought at the same time as a girl in the corner of the room began sobbing in fright. They shared an 'our-teacher-is-F'ing-creepy' look before bursting out into laughter again.

Okay, so…maybe _routine_ isn't the right word…

_Later that morning…_

What was the true purpose of computer classes? Was it to learn how to control the almighty technology that, since its creation, has ruled the world?

Or was it just a free opportunity for strange men like Cid Highwind to attempt to brainwash the youths that attended Starlight High, and in the attempt, put them to sleep?

Too many of the students enrolled in Computer 101, it was the latter. Seeing as they were of the generation of computers. They'd learned how to control their parents' online bank account at the age of about five, and found all this 'tutorial' boring and a waste of time. Perhaps Cid was so enthralled with the wonders of the computer, because it hadn't been a part of his life from day one? Who knew what went on in that crazy, blond hair covered head of Highwind's?

His gruff voice filled the almost silence of the room, his lecture on how to navigate and 'master' Microsoft Office laden heavily with, what he deemed, 'mild' curse words.

A crumpled piece of paper smacked Roxas upside the head, startling the blond out of his half-asleep stupor. He jerked upright, blinking around the room before his wide blue eyes rested on the culprit.

Casting quick looks around, he spotted Sora waving his arm to get Roxas' attention from across the room. Cid currently had his back to the class, demonstrating something on the projector, giving them ample opportunity to do as they wished…for a short time, anyways.

The brunet made the motions of smoothing out the top of his computer monitor, and Roxas raised an eyebrow in question. It took him a full two minutes of spastic motions from Sora before he caught on that he was supposed to open the paper.

Nodding at Sora, Roxas uncrumpled the paper and smoothed it out on his keyboard, seeing a small note written in Sora's, surprisingly, neat handwriting.

'_Get on MSN. We'll chat!'_

Roxas glanced up at Sora in trepidation. Was the brunet serious? They were in school!

Scribbling a response, Roxas aimed and tossed the paper back, smacking a rather annoyed looking Sora in the face. He didn't so much as blink, just crossed his arms and huffed quietly.

The paper came sailing back at him faster than he could blink, and Roxas ducked instinctively. He plucked the paper off the floor and opened it, only to see that Sora didn't reply to him, but had simply circled his original message.

Grumbling, Roxas checked one more time that Cid wasn't looking before he opened Messenger, and signed in.

_Not everyone can be a Hero has just signed in_

_Dear, your name here has just signed in_

Not everyone can be a Hero says: should we be doing this, Sora?

_Sonata Arctica has just signed in_

Dear, your name here says**: Chill Roxas, it's cool 3**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: Still…

Sonata Arctica says: _Oh, grow a pair!_

Dear, your name here says: **HEY FUU!**

Sonata Arctica says: _. . ._

_Not Dishwasher Safe has just signed in_

Not Dishwasher Safe says: HI PEOPLES!

Dear, your name here says: **Demyx?**

Not Dishwasher Safe says: ^w^ Yeppers!

Sonata Arctica says: _WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?_

Not everyone can be a Hero says: Um…what's with your sn, Dem?

Not Dishwasher Safe says: IT'S SEXY! 3

_Zexion has just signed in_

Zexion says: _**You should all be ashamed of yourselves…**_

Dear, your name here says: **Why?**

Zexion says: _**Chatting in class can get you in serious trouble**_

Not everyone can be a Hero says: Then why are YOU chatting during class?

Not Dishwasher Safe says: NICE ONE ROXY!

Not everyone can be a Hero says: …don't call me Roxy…

Sonata Arctica says: _Gah, you guys are absolutely no fun to chat with!_

Not Dishwasher Safe says: What's up your butt?

Dear, your name here says: **Yeah, Fuu, you've been grumpy all day…is it 'that time of the month'?**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: SORA!

Not Dishwasher Safe says: XD

Sonata Arctica says: _. . ._

Zexion says: _**No, it's not that time for her yet, Sora…that's next week**_

Not everyone can be a Hero says: Wha? o.O;

Not Dishwasher Safe says: HAHAHA!

Dear, your name here says: **Oh…**

_IBroughtSexyBack has just signed in_

IBroughtSexyBack: **'Sup Bitches?**

Not Dishwasher Safe says: AXEL! OMG!

Sonata Arctica says: _Great…_

Not everyone can be a Hero says: Axel?

Dear, your name here says: **Where are you?**

IBroughtSexyBack says: **Not that it's any of your business, nerd, but I'm in the Main Building, watching Mr. Mansex's sexy swagger, lol**

Not Dishwasher Safe says: LOL!

Zexion says: _**Skipping again?**_

IBroughtSexyBack says: **always**

Sonata Arctica says: _I'm going to laugh my ass off the day you get caught…_

IBroughtSexyBack says: **don't hold your breath on that one**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: Wait…if you're skipping…then how are you online?

Dear, your name here says: **He's using his phone, Rox**

Zexion says: _**That's rather obvious…**_

Sonata Arctica says: _duh…_

Not everyone can be a Hero says: Well, I didn't know you could use your cell phone for MSN!

Not Dishwasher Safe says: Chill, little dude

IBroughtSexyBack says: **Yeah, ROXAS! Chill out…**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: QUIT THAT!

IBroughtSexyBack says: **Or you'll what?**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: I'll…I'll…embarrass YOU for once!

Not Dishwasher Safe says: XDDDDD

Zexion says: _**I'd like to see that…**_

Dear, your name here says: **Yeah, Rox, you can't embarrass Axel…you just can't**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: WATCH ME!

Sonata Arctica says: _Now things are getting interesting…_

IBroughtSexyBack says: **So ROXAS, what shall be my embarrassing punishment?**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: . . .

IBroughtSexyBack says: **C'mon, you can't back out now :3**

Dear, your name here says: **Yeah, Rox, show him!**

Not Dishwasher Safe says: Roxy?

Zexion says: _**The look on your face is rather amusing, Roxas…**_

Not everyone can be a Hero says: YOU'VE BEEN WATCHING ME?

Zexion says: _**Kind of hard not to…you're sitting right across from me…**_

Sonata Arctica says: _HA! Your expression is even MORE priceless now!_

Dear, your name here says: **I totally gotta see!**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: KNOCK IT OFF, GUYS!

Not Dishwasher Safe says: I'm starting to wish I'd come along with you guys to the lab, instead of rotting in the library…things sound funner down there XD

IBroughtSexyBack says: **I'm still waiting for you to teach me a lesson, ROXAS!**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: FINE! Axel, I dare you to come into our classroom and shout something random and embarrassing!

IBroughtSexyBack says: **Such as?**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: I have no idea, just pick a random word! But you have to do it in our class so we know you did it!

IBroughtSexyBack says: **A'ight, see ya in a few**

_IBroughtSexyBack appears to be offline_

Dear, your name here says: **Didn't see THAT coming…**

Zexion says: _**Roxas…you clearly don't know what you've just done…**_

Not Dishwasher Safe says: Oh, Oh, I SOOO have to see this!

_Not Dishwasher Safe appears to be offline_

Sonata Arctica says: _I take back what I said earlier about you guys being no fun to chat with…today might just be entertaining_

Dear, your name here says: **Rox…I don't see how this is supposed to embarrass Axel…**

Not everyone can be a Hero says: Ugh…neither do I…but you guys wouldn't stop bugging me!

Zexion says: _**How so? All we did was comment on your facial expressions…**_

Sonata Arctica says: _Yeah, you can't really blame US for you being a complete moron, that's your OWN fault_

After about five minutes of Zexion, Fuu and Sora insulting him online, Roxas was more that ready to hurl his computer out the window…when the door to their classroom flew open, slamming into the wall and stunning Cid into silence.

"Demyx?" he shouted. "What the fuck are you doin' 'ere?"

Demyx grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "I, uh, have a message I was supposed to deliver to…ah...Zexion!" he waved a piece of paper under Cid's nose, to which to older man answered with a snort.

"Whatever, just give it to him and get out!"

A low chatter began to circulate around the room as Cid returned to his lecture and Demyx sauntered over to the back corner, leaning against the counter next to Zexion's computer. "'Sup?"

Zexion smirked up at Demyx. "Nice to see you made it before Axel."

"Yeah, well, he was all the way in the Main Building…I was just in the library…"

Roxas peeked over the top of his computer monitor at Demyx. "Isn't that in the Main Building too?"

"He means the old library, Rox," Sora supplied in a loud whisper from where he sat, three computers away behind them. A muffled scoff followed, which they all assumed came from Fuu, who sat one chair away from Zexion.

Roxas opened his mouth to respond, when the door flew open for the second time. Cid turned a frustrated eye to the newest occupant, who looked more than pleased at the full classroom. Axel's grin only grew as he spotted all of them sitting relatively close together in one place.

Clearing his throat, the redhead took a deep breath and screamed:

"SPATULA!"

Everyone jumped in their chairs, one person even falling to the floor in stunned disbelief. Cid's eye twitched as Axel took a bow and backed slowly out of the room. "Thank you, thank you," he chirped.

Demyx doubled over in laughter, while Zexion covered his mouth to keep the majority of his chuckles at bay. Sora was consumed with a case of the giggles and, for the first time since he'd met her, Roxas saw Fuu smiling and laughing.

Cid threw the projector at Axel's head, but it ended up slamming into the closing door as Axel ducked out just in the knick of time.

"GET THE HELL OUTTA MY CLASSROOM!" he shouted at Demyx, who snickered his way out after Axel.

_My god…these people truly _are_ insane!_ Roxas thought as the bell rang.

Sora jumped up in triumph. "YES! LUNCH TIME!"

_Cid's_ _PoV_

The heavy door creaked closed behind him as Cid Highwind stomped down the stairs. The sunlight was irritating, and he headed for a shaded area besides the building. The bell for lunch had just rang, but the chaos caused by butt-ache 1 and butt-ache 2, also known as Demyx and Axel, in his class had left Cid hankering for a cigarette.

He leaned his back against the cool stone wall, lighting up with a relaxing sigh. Yeah…nothing beat a cig after the kind of shit he'd had to deal with. It was bad enough that the students who took his class didn't give a flying rat's ass about the subject he taught, and the online chatting he knew was going on behind his back was actually something to be expected…

But he wouldn't wish the hellions that are Demyx and Axel on anybody…let alone the two of them together.

Feminine laughter caught his attention and Cid took a long drag as he slowly made his way towards the back of the building. Standing in a semi-circle around an individual, well-known student, was a group of five girls who looked to be about the same age. All of them were smoking, and the short buds still held between their fingers gave him a good indication of how long they'd been outside, laughing about something one had said. While he didn't know the names of all the others, the one girl standing against the wall was hard to forget.

_Larxene_.

Wearing black jeans and a ratty, dark green windbreaker, Larxene stood taller than the rest of the girls, even though she was leaning back. Her green eyes were narrowed as she stared off into space, not really paying any attention to those around her. The soft wind stirred her short blonde hair, the two strands that stood up from the rest fluttering gently.

Cid was about to confront the girls and tell them that skipping to smoke was against school rules, but stopped himself before he could. Who the hell was he to give them a lecture about such things? Shit, he did the exact same thing when he was in high school.

Grinning, Cid flicked the remainder of his cigarette away, turning to leave the girls to their own devices. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and headed for the teacher's lounge for lunch, curious as to what troubles would be stirred up today.

The atmosphere of the teacher's lounge was warm and open, the occupants exchanging boisterous talk, most complaining about the students in their classes and how they could hardly wait for the first holiday break.

Yuffie was currently flirting shamelessly with the History teacher, Cloud Strife, who mostly ignored the hyper-active woman as he sipped at a mug of coffee. Vexen was perched on one end of the ugly ass green couch that served as the only comfort in the lounge. On the opposite end sat Marluxia, the home ec. teacher. He was an odd one. While the others talked, some mildly, some colorfully, only every so often, Marluxia took great pains to speak with them all. It was rather odd and sort of creepy how outgoing he was.

Or maybe it was the pink hair…

Aerith, the school nurse, came in with a bright smile. She nodded at Marluxia and pinked in the cheeks a bit as he replied to her inquiries. After retrieving her packed lunch out of the fridge, the brunet woman left as suddenly as she had come.

Cid dropped himself down in one of the metal chairs set up around the folding card table. With such a large campus, one would think the teacher's lounge would be bigger…or at least more comfortable.

Saïx, the foreign languages teacher came through, the principle, Xemnas, right behind him. Those two seemed closer this year than before. They'd always gotten along, seeing as Xemnas had a god-complex and Saïx was naturally submissive to his orders. The blue-haired ninny was just a suck-up, plain and simple.

Gazing one last time around at his fellow teachers, Cid scoffed and picked up a three day old newspaper. It'd been a long day already, and it was only half way over…and it seemed like lunch was going to live up to the day's goal of 'last forever, piss us all off'.

_Sora's Point of View_

Sora ran through the corridor in a rush, not to be late for the lunch with his friends. Tifa had held him back in the corridor to talk to him about some assignment they'd gotten back.

"Hey Sora!" Said brunet looked up and saw a girl from his math class wave towards him. He grinned and waved back. Of course when you're in a rush and someone calls your name, you usually don't see where you're going and naturally this happened to Sora. And it resulted in him running straight into an open locker door.

He looked up in shock from his sudden position lying straight on the floor. A pair of aqua blue eyes stared down on him and of course due to Murphy's Law it had to be the most popular dude in school that he had to run in to. The silver haired guy looked surprised and extended a hand towards the brunet.

"Hey, are you okay?" Sora took the hand and got helped up.

"Yeah I think so.. I was in a hurry and didn't exactly see where I was going…" The silver haired guy just smiled towards him.

"It's okay, as long as you're not hurt. I'm Riku by the way. What's your name?" Once again the hand was extended towards Sora who hesitated slightly before he shook it.

"I'm – "

"**Sora!**" Both boys spun around to see the redheaded misfit/Axel and his crazy blond friend/Demyx standing there.

"Axel, Demyx, what are you guys doing here?" Axel crossed his arms over his chest and Demyx walked up to the two boys and poked Riku hard in the chest.

"What are you doing with Sora? He has done nothing to you so leave him alone. Come on Sora." Demyx grabbed the brunet's arm and dragged him away with Axel walking up towards Riku, standing eye to eye with the silver haired teen.

"If you so much as split a hair on the brunet's head I will make you suffer so help me God. I swear on my parents' graves." He walked away after his two friends, leaving Riku perplexed and speechless. When they rounded a corner a hand was laid on the silver haired teen's shoulder and he once again spun around.

"Hey Riku" Kairi's voice was sweet as syrup with a bitter undertone. "What were you doing with that nobody?" Riku shrugged his shoulders.

"He accidentally ran into my locker door, I just helped him up before his friends came and started bitching about me hurting him or something." Kairi snuck her arms around him and whispered in his ear.

"It's not good for you to be seen with those creatures, think about your reputation Love." Riku forced a smile at the wine haired girl.

"I'll remember it. I don't even know who he is."

"Sora, what were you doing with that geek?" Axel didn't look happy, not at all while Sora just shrugged his shoulders.

"I accidentally ran in to his locker door and he helped me up." Demyx leaned back in his chair in the cafeteria, arms crossed.

"Promise he wasn't giving you a hard time? 'Cause if he did I will get him, I will get him so bad he'll never see the sun rise again." Sora smiled.

"Don't worry Demyx." The blond smiled again at the words.

"Alrighty then… Let's eat!" At his own words he started to munch away on some fries while Fuu just looked at him with a disgusted look and started to pick at her salad. Axel ate from a burger and noticed that Roxas didn't even touch his food.

"What's bothering you Rox?" Said blond glanced up.

"Nothing, and it's just Roxas."

"Alright then, just ROXAS." He sniggered at his own joke and stole a fry from Demyx who smacked his hand, but too late; the redhead got away with the fry and celebrated his triumph by eating it. Demyx muttered something inaudible and went back to his fries, protecting them with his life.

It was an unusually quiet lunch, even Sora was quiet. Demyx tried to stir up a conversation, but he failed miserably to his great distress so he once again returned to his fries. The warning bell rang, declaring it was only five minutes to the next lesson so everyone got up. Axel ran first.

"Bye Bitches, 'm having a smoke." He was gone before anyone got a chance to blink. The juniors from their group headed towards their world history class and managed to get a seat just seconds before the bell rang again. Their teacher looked up and they were met by a pair of clear blue piercing eyes and blond spikes. The man looked like he was in his early twenties and rose, turned his back towards them and started to write on the blackboard in slightly spidery handwriting. When he was done he turned around and the black board said "World History, teacher: Cloud Strife"

"Alright kids. My name is Cloud Strife, welcome to World History. We're going to start a project today. You are going to write an essay on at least 8 pages –" at those words the class sighed and Cloud continued "- about a world, town or country of your choice, I want background, where it got its name from, and some of your own questions. It's due in a month, so I want it back on my desk October first. This represents 30 per cent of your grades so don't you dare get it in late. You can search for information everywhere, but I want a clean and complete list on where you got the information from. Every book, website, magazine or anything you use, I want the name of it.

You will be pretty free on the lessons but please don't leave it until last minute. I don't need you to report to classes, but I will be here if you need me for help or if you have some questions. It is also okay for you to compile your information here, but also as I've said; don't even **dare **leave it to me late. Make backup copies and safety files so you won't lose it. Any questions? Good. Begin."

During his ten minute speech he had written everything down on the white board behind him so no information was missing. The students sat quiet and perplexed for a few minutes before silent mumbles were heard through the class room. The blond teacher looked out over the class.

"What are you waiting for? Get out of here and start searching facts. Oh and by the way; yes it is okay for you to work in pairs of two, but not more, and if you are two I want twelve pages instead of eight. Got it? Good, get out." Roxas slowly rose and the other students did the same, one after another and headed out. Safe and sound out of the class room Roxas turned towards Sora.

"How the hell can one person talk for so long without breathing?" Sora just smiled.

"I have no idea, but he's always been like that, he doesn't like talking much so he says everything he needs to and then he's quiet… You should hear his lectures." The brunet chuckled.

"Come on, let's find Zexion and Fuu and head over to the library and I'll show you a talkative man."

"No need to look for us, we're right here." Sora and Roxas jumped and spun around and found Zexion and Fuu standing there. Sora smiled brightly.

"Alright, then let's head of to the library." They left the pink building and headed towards the library. Sora skipped happily down the way.

"Hey Roxas, can I work with you? It's more fun to work together and you don't have to write as much, this way we only have to do six pages each." Roxas shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure, what world or town to you want to work about?" They chatted about what to work about and little details as Zexion and Fuu walked behind them. Zexion smiled slightly at the two and shook his head. Fuu bit her lip and looked up at the slate haired boy.

"You… um.. You wanna work with me?" Zexion blinked a couple of times to process what she said.

"That's a really nice offer Fuu, but you know I work better alone… Besides I know it'll be complete if I do it myself and I feel more secure about the work. Not that I don't trust you, it just feels better." The girl just shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine, whatever." Zexion grabbed her wrist and turned her so they stood face to face.

"Sure it's okay?" Fuu glanced away and nodded. The taller boy smiled.

"Good, come on then, they're leaving us." They walked after the other two boys and headed in to the library. They library was huge and filled with bookshelf after bookshelf with thin and thick books and Roxas thought to himself that this must be paradise from someone who loved reading. Several new and hi tech computers stood in rows, free for students to use, some occupied with youths searching for information or just wasting time.

Sora skipped ahead to a counter where a tall dark haired man stood and stared at a computer screen, every now and then writing something on the keyboard.

"Come on Roxas, get over here!" Said blond walked up to the counter.

"Roxas, this is Leon, Leon this is Roxas, he is new here and he needs a library card." The taller brunet eyed Roxas who felt uncomfortable under the gray gaze and shifted foots slightly. Finally the man named Leon nodded.

"ID." Roxas looked confused.

"Excuse me?" Leon looked at him with one eyebrow raised and Sora nudged him in the side.

"Give him your student ID." Roxas mouth formed an "oh" and he handed over the plastic card. Leon took the card, looked at it and started tapping frenetically on the keyboard. After about five minutes he handed over a bunch of papers that Roxas had to fill out and finally, after about twenty minutes, he got his card. Sora smiled his usual bright smile towards the not so talkative brunet.

"Thanks a bundle Leon." Leon just grunted and started to tap on the keyboard.

"yeah one more thing…" The older man looked up again. "We're doing a history project that Cloud assigned us… Where can we find information about Twilight Town?" Leon looked down at the computer and started to write something before he looked up again.

"Section B 347." Sora smiled and waved.

"Okay, thanks, bye" He dragged Roxas away from the counter and started searching for "Section B 347". When they finally found it, they searched for books and walked towards a table with several heavy thick books. After a while Zexion and Fuu joined them at the table and they sat there for almost two hours, since this was their last lesson.

When Roxas finally was on his way home, he felt like he actually had done something useful this day and half smiled on his way home, greeting everyone he met that he knew, and didn't knew.


	5. Chapter 5 Life on Mars

**Disclaimer:** Idon't own KH or it's characters, or FF or it's characters, or the song Life on Mars

* * *

**Chapter 5 Life on Mars**

It was a warm morning; late August had gone over to early September. School went on as it always did, and always done at Starlight High. Students came and left but things always stayed the same. Troublemakers did the veni vedi vici. Almost anyway, they came, they were seen, but instead of winning, they left. It was a calm pace in a sleepy town, as it always had been.

These thoughts and others alike whirled through Naminé's mind as she walked her way to Kairi's house which lay on her way to school, so she always stopped by and they walked together. Today was no different. The air had a faint smell of flowers and not a cloud was in sight.

When she reached Kairi's house, she skipped up the stairs and happily knocked on the door. It was a lovely morning and she was sure it was going to turn out to be a great day. She slowly hummed to herself and waited for her wine haired friend to open the door. A good five minutes passed and still no one opened the door. Naminé raised an eyebrow in question and tried knocking again with no results.

The blonde girl backed off from the porch, picked up a small rock and aimed at Kairi's window. After a few rocks the front door flew up and a woman in her thirties stood in the doorway, dressed in a long red bathrobe, a sleeping mask on her forehead and hair a mess.

"What the hell is your problem girly?" Naminé swallowed hard. She didn't know Kairi's mom was home. If she knew she wouldn't have thrown the pebbles. Kairi's mom was never fun to deal with, and it was even worse when she was newly awoken.

"Um… I'm sorry; I just wanted to get a hold of Kairi so we could go to school." The woman in the doorway raised an eyebrow over a puffy eye.

"Kairi's not home. She said she would sleep at a friend's place." Naminé froze at the words. Where would Kairi sleep without telling her before?

"Oh. I'm sorry I woke you up... I will go now. Have a nice day." The doorway lady just waved her hand at her as she turned around and jammed the door closed behind her.

Slowly Naminé turned around and walked away from the house. Why hadn't Kairi told her that her mom was home? And why hadn't she said that she was sleeping at someone's place, and who's place did she sleep at?

Questions whirled through the blonde's head and she couldn't understand why Kairi never told her. She didn't understand, was she loosing the dear friend? No, now she was taking things beforehand. She would wait and talk to Kairi about it. She was sure there was a reasonable explanation.

Kairi wouldn't just leave her… Right?

** xXx**

When she arrived to school her clothes were soaking wet since it had started raining. She sighed and threw her wet bag into her locker. This day started out great but soon became chaos, but hopefully things would get better again.

She found Kairi in one of the corridors, hanging on Riku's arm, sporting a big purple hickey on her neck. She walked towards her friend who didn't see her.

"Hey Kai, where were you this morning?" Kairi gave her her million dollar smile.

"I slept at Riku's place." Naminé looked a tad hurt.

"Why didn't you tell me yesterday? Now I accidentally woke your mom, while trying to get a hold of you." Kairi let go of Riku's arm, grabbed Naminé's and took her to the side. Her anger was obvious.

"You **woke **my mom up! Oh my god, I'm gonna be in so much trouble when I get home! Thanks a lot!" Naminé looked down on her shoes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"Well, now you don't have to bother, I don't wanna see you again!" The wine haired girl turned around and walked away towards her friends. Naminé stood her ground and didn't know what to do or where to go. A passing stranger rolled her eyes.

"Drama queen. Somebody get her a show of her own."

Naminé spun around and ran towards the girl's bathroom where she found an empty stall, closed the door and sank down on the disgusting toilet. She only sat there a few seconds before she realized someone was having sex in the stall next to hers.

She flew up and ran out the bathroom again but didn't see where she was going and ended up with running in to someone, falling to the floor in the process.

"Jeez Axel, people have this weird habit of running into you and falling to the floor in the meantime. Are you all right girly?" Naminé looked up and saw one flaming red hair and one blond Mohawk thing with huge sea green eyes. The sea green eyes extended a hand towards her, which she accepted and he helped her up. She mumbled thanks and the Mohawk just smiled.

"Anytime. What's your name Blondie?" Naminé met the Mohawk's gaze.

"Naminé… and yours?" The Mohawk tilted his head to the side.

"Demyx… But are you okay? You look sad…?" Naminé shook her head.

"No, I'm fine… I need to go now… Bye." She turned around to walk away but didn't get that far before a hand caught the hem of her tank top. It was Demyx's red haired friend.

"Hold it there Shortie, there's this un-written law that everyone who runs into me has to hang out with us for the day. So don't just run away with the 'K thanks bye' deal here. You're stuck with us today. Come on, this way Short-stuff." He turned her around and they walked towards the main corridor again. Naminé raised a hand in protest.

"I have art class in the C house, so we're walking the wrong way." Demyx smiled.

"That's okay. I have music, so I'm going that way too. Come on." They walked together out of the green main building towards the big pink one with a big black 'C' over the entrance.

"So… Sure you're okay..? You didn't look too well back there." Naminé's gaze fell on the asphalt.

"Yeah… I just had a fight with my best friend." Demyx looked sad.

"I'm sorry, that's never fun. Axel and I fight a lot but it's all in good fun."

"Yeah.. but she said she never wanted to see me again." Demyx slung an arm around her narrow shoulders.

"I'm really sorry there Naminé. But you can hang out with us all you want 'till you work it out. We're here for ya babe." Naminé smiled.

"Thanks."

**xXxXx**

Art class ran smoothly as always. She loved this class, this was where she could be herself and get lost in the colors, just forget everything. Xigbar, the art teacher, was a pain in the ass since he wasn't that good on teaching, nor painting and he probably had some serious anger issues but she had learned to shut those things out.

Xigbar had given them free hands on what to paint, since he thought the lesson would be cancelled. No one knew why he thought this but on the other hand no one complained. It was a rather nice silence that laid over the room, everyone too caught up in whatever they were painting. Naminé spaced out with oil on canvas and let the colors flow.

"That looks pretty nice you know." The voice behind scared her and she accidentally pushed the brush too hard again the canvas, making a big blue blob in the middle of the painting. She turned around to see who the voice belonged too and was met by a pair of beautiful green eyes with a mischievous, yet calming spark, under red hair and a charming smile. She answered the smile shyly under her bangs.

The guy was rather tall and really handsome, but she had no idea who he was or what he did here. She was just about to ask when -

"HEY YOU!" Xigbar's voice cut through the air like a speeding bullet and the young man turned his head towards the older art teacher and waved his hand.

"Yeah yeah, coming! Sorry Pumpkin gotta go." He gave her a wink before he turned around and started walking away, walking like he owned the world. It took Naminé a few seconds to get back to reality, before she quickly changed the color from blue to red.

**xXxXx**

She walked away from the big pink building, completely in her own world. The young guy that had complimented her work had glued himself to her mind and she couldn't get him out no matter what. Rai was also there, but this guy was... Wow. She wished she knew who he was.

"Hey, Naminé!" The voice from behind brought her back to reality and she looked over her shoulder to see Demyx coming running up behind her.

"Hey." She gave him a small smile and they started walking towards the school.

"Do you also have lunch now?" The petite blonde nodded and they walked towards the big blue building with the big "B" over the entrance that was their cafeteria. Demyx smiled towards her.

"We're gonna met up with Axel and everyone inside, come on." They walked inside and grabbed trays and food before they looked around and before they found Axel's bright hair and walked over to them. Demyx took a seat across from Axel, leaving Naminé to sit on the edge next to a girl with slate colored hair that gave her weird looks and Naminé was sure she growled at her. Hmm, weird.

She slowly picked at her salad, not daring to say anything, afraid that creepy-girl next to her would smack her if she even made a sound. And she was sure she kept growling as soon as Naminé moved.

Two guys across from her, both with brown hair, in different hair-dos seemed to have an argument of some sort. The one with the spiky hair shook his head.

"No Pence, I'm telling you chocolate muffins are better." The one named Pence look up from a laptop in front of him.

"No, blueberry muffins are the shit."

"Chocolate!"

"Blueberry."

"Chocolate!"

"Blueberry."

"**Chocolate!**"

"Blueberry."

"SORA! Give it a rest." Axel threw one of Demyx's fries on the brunet with the spiky hair. Sora, obviously, crossed his arms over his chest.

"Pence. I **will** throw your laptop out the window. Do I need to mention that we're on the third floor?" Pence quickly hugged his precious laptop.

"Chocolate actually is pretty good." Snickers spread across the table and Axel shook his head while he laughed and stole another fry from Demyx who smacked his hand. Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh bite me." Demyx started growling towards the redhead.

"I will if you don't leave my fries **alone**." Axel rolled his eyes.

"Come on Demyx, stop being overprotective. It's just fries."

"Yeah yeah, comes from the guy who sleeps with a teddy." Axel's face shifted to the color of his hair and he looked away, slightly mumbling something like "You leave Mr. Schnookypoo out if this…" before he looked back and laughed. A slate haired guy sitting next to Demyx face palmed.

Naminé noticed that the girl next to her just rolled her eyes and took a bite out of her sandwich. The blonde continued picking at her salad and smiled to herself. These people were so weird, yet a part of her found them cool and fun. It was a mystery to her how they could be themselves and they still liked each other. If she ever showed her real face to Kairi, Kairi would leave her in two red seconds. She wished she could hang out with them more often, but Kairi would never approve. But on the other hand; maybe Kairi maybe had nothing to say about the whole deal.

"What are you smiling about?" Naminé looked up to see who talked but right at that moment a new person entered and sat down across from her so she never got the chance to see who it was. He had blond ruffled hair and gigantic electric blue eyes.

"Yo ROXAS." The new blond just rolled his eyes at Axel's comment and started munching on a chicken burger. When he noticed Naminé he swallowed what he had in his mouth.

"Yo, who are you?" Naminé swallowed her piece of salad.

"I'm Naminé, Axel and Demyx invited me to hang with them today…" The blond guy just shrugged his shoulders.

"Kay, whatever." Demyx, who just came back from grabbing a soda, smacked Roxas upside the head.

"Come on Roxy, be nice." Roxas just growled and continued eating on his burger in silence. Naminé continued with her salad and took a sip out of her drink. Axel and Demyx were once again fighting over fries; the slate haired guy next to Demyx had picked up a book and was currently reading. It was a mystery to Naminé how he could focus on the book with all the yelling. All of a sudden Axel rose.

"Smoke break" Everyone gathered their stuff and they walked out of the blue building. Axel fished up a package of cigarettes from his pocket, took one and lit it. He offered one to Naminé who just shook her head. Demyx was just about to steal one as Axel withdrew the package, making Demyx snap a cigarette in two.

"Oh my god! **Dude! **You broke it!" Axel crossed his arms and looked at Roxas who was currently kicking a pebble.

"Yeah! Bad ROXAS **bad!**" Roxas looked up at him, confusion written all over his features.

"What did I do!"

"You **broke** it! Bad Roxas." Axel just kept blaming him, a smug grin painted on his face.

"Broke what!"

"Exactly." Roxas just shook his head and went back to his little pebble.

"Whatever." Axel sniggered and took another drag. Demyx stole another cigarette, this time without breaking it and lit it. He inhaled the smoke and started softly singing. Naminé smiled to herself and leaned against the warm wall, the slate haired boy sank down and picked up his book again. Crazy-girl walked off, Axel played with his lighter and even Roxas stopped with the pebble. The older blond had an awesome voice and Naminé closed her eyes towards the sun.

"_It's a god awful small affair  
to the girl with the mousey hair_  
_But her mummy is yelling 'no!'_  
_And her daddy has told her to go_  
_But her friend is no where to be seen_  
_Now she walks through her sunken dream_  
_To the seat with the clearest view_  
_And she's hooked to the silver screen_  
_But the film is a sadd'ning bore_  
_For she's lived it ten times or more."_

Naminé felt good for the first time all day. The song made the whole thing magical; Demyx's voice was just plain… Wow. Unfortunately the magic was broken by Axel screaming a "Cowabunga!". She felt like hitting Axel real hard but the redhead just grinned. He flicked away the remainder of his cig and nudged the reading guy with his foot.

"Come on Zexion. We're going in." Zexion looked up, closed his book with a sigh and rose. Together they walked in, but Naminé still had some of the magic left inside of her.

**xXx**

Leaving Starlight High behind for another afternoon, Naminé slowly made her way home, swaying gently to the melody of Demyx's song from earlier. She was amazed at how quickly her day had turned around. First, she'd thought it would be the worst day ever with waking up Kairi's mother, getting yelled at, then it starting to rain on her way to school, Kairi getting mad at her and practically disowning her as a friend.

But things had turned out alright. She was surprised at how different those rebel freaks were to how she and the rest of her group thought. Naminé sighed anew at the image of them laughing together at lunch. They were an odd bunch, but they got along, even when they were fighting.

She sometimes wished she could just be herself around her friends and not have them judge her.

Pushing open the door to her house, Naminé took a deep breath and kicked off her shoes. She wandered into the kitchen for a snack, and then went out into the living room to do her homework. Nobody enjoyed homework, except maybe nerds, but Naminé suffered through it, since it meant she got more time to draw.

She was almost finished when the phone rang. She picked it up automatically, convinced it was just another random person asking for her mom. Naminé already had her mouth open and was prepared to say that Evelyn wasn't here, when Kairi's wail had her snapping her mouth shut.

"OH MY GOD, SWEETIE, I'M SO, SO SORRY!" Kairi cried. Naminé rolled her eyes, sighing as Kairi went on with her dramatics. She supposed she should have expected it. Kairi was the greatest drama queen of all time. "I didn't mean to yell at you! I don't hate you, Nami! You're my best friend in the whole world! I don't want to lose you! Can you ever forgive me?"

Realizing that Kairi had actually stopped her entirely fake bawling to hear an answer, Naminé huffed out a breath and brushed her hair out of her face. "I know you didn't mean it. I made a mistake. You made a mistake. We learn from them and move on, right?"

"Yes! That's exactly right!" Naminé could practically see the girl's cocky smirk as she nodded her head. Kairi thought she had the whole world at her beck and call didn't she? "So, you forgive me?"

Naminé thought about it. She was about to say no, thoughts of the day spent in the company of the school rejects still whirling around in her mind, but this was Kairi. Her best friend. She'd known Kairi for _years_ and the rejects for a couple of _hours_, and she was ready to just throw it all away?

Shaking her head, Naminé blinked. "Yes…of course I forgive you, Kai-Kai." _Even if your apology was entirely faked._ Axel and those weirdos were just too odd for her taste, anyway. She liked what was normal. And Kairi, Riku, Olette, all her friends, they were what was normal.

"YES! Thank you, sweetie! I am really, very sorry." Kairi went on. Naminé jumped a bit as a small beep interrupted her friend's tirade.

"Oh, hold on, I've got another call." When Kairi agreed to hold, Naminé switched the lines. "Hello?"

"Um, Naminé? It's Rai." Naminé's eyes went wide at the deep voice on the other end. How did Rai even get her number? She didn't recall ever giving it to him.

"Oh…hello, Rai." Namin´3 brushed her hair behind her ear. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering…um…if you'd like to…maybe…sometime…date me? Like. This Saturday, if you aren't busy."

Stunned, Naminé replied, "Hold please," switched back to Kairi's line, she whispered fiercely, "Rai just called and asked me out!"

Squealing, Kairi responded, "Oh honey, that's wonderful! Did you say yes?"

"I…I put him on hold." Naminé admitted shyly.

"Silly girl!" Kairi shrieked. "Tell him yes! Come on, Rai's _totally_ into you. We've had this conversation before. You can't be a loner forever! This is your big chance to score big with the school's star jock!"

Nodding along, Naminé swallowed the lump in her throat. "O-okay…alright. Hang on." She switched back to Rai. "Um…I'm not busy…a date sounds…nice."

"Really? Great! I'll pick you up at seven." He hung up before Naminé could even ask how he knew where she lived. She didn't remember ever telling him that either.

Back to Kairi's line, Naminé took a deep breath. "Okay…I said yes. He's picking me up at seven on Saturday."

"Awesome!" Kairi giggled. "Well, sweetie, I have to go. Good luck with that!" after they hung up, Naminé sank back into the couch, confused and a bit dizzy from all that had just happened in the past five minutes.

The door opened and in came her mother, blonde hair a bit messy and her blue eyes aglow with happiness. She spotted Naminé sitting on the couch, dazed, and swooped in to hug her daughter fiercely. "Hello, my sweeting!" she giggled like a little girl, startling Naminé back into her own mind.

"Um, hi mom."

"Oh dearest, this man I've been seeing is simply the greatest! He's so wonderful! I can't wait to see him again." Naminé blinked up at her mother as Evelyn swept out of the room as quickly as she'd shown up. While it was strange to see her mother flouncing around the room, she wasn't surprised at all to hear those words. She'd heard them before. About every other guy her mother had ever dated. And there'd been a lot.

It was always the same. She'd come home starry eyed and claim he was the greatest man in the world, and then just drop him off and search for another one. This time wouldn't be any different than the one before. But she wasn't going to say anything aloud to her mother.

"That's great mom."

_-That Weekend-_

Naminé fidgeted as Kairi did last minute touch-ups on her makeup. She was dressed in a nice, rather low-cut white top that Kairi had suggested and a pair of crisp, light blue jeans. Her hair was as it always was, brushed over one shoulder, but Kairi had added hair-spray to make it stay in place and had brushed it until it shone.

"You look fabulous!" Kairi giggled, firmly gripping Naminé's chin to keep her face straight. "Stop moving, you'll ruin all my hard work!"

She forced herself to do as her friend said as Kairi finished up applying a rather heavy layer of blush.

"You're so pale, Nami! We've _got_ to get you an appointment at a tanning salon soon."

Naminé just shrugged delicately as Kairi helped her to her feet. They both glanced up at the clock, seeing that it was almost seven. Rai would be coming to pick her up soon.

"Alright, one last check-up," Kairi announced, looking Naminé over again and again, circling around the blonde one last time. "Okay, I suppose you're fit for a first date. Now, remember, be coy, but leave him wanting more, don't give it all away too fast. Make him work for it. And soon, you'll have him wrapped around your little finger like I've got my little Riku."

She wasn't so sure about that, but Naminé nodded regardless, and jumped in surprise when the doorbell rang. "He's here?" she took a final look at the clock and saw that it was already five minutes past seven. She cast an almost helpless look at Kairi, who just gave her a thumbs up and shoved her at the door.

Rai stood on the other side, dressed as he always was in his football jersey and baggy jeans. He hadn't even tried to dress up for the date. Naminé scrunched up her nose, but quickly let the expression melt away before he could see. She wasn't supposed to judge. He was just being himself. She had to respect that.

"We gonna go?"

Naminé nodded and took his arm, waving goodbye to Kairi as they headed down the walkway.

So far, so good.

**xXx**

_This is probably the most awkward date ever…_ Naminé thought as she twisted her napkin nervously in her lap. They'd hardly spoken to each other. Well, whenever Rai tried to engage her in conversation, Naminé just led it into a dead-end. She wasn't that great at talking, and she'd found Rai easy to talk to before. So why now, was she finding it difficult?

"You look nice," Rai began again.

Naminé nodded over at him, blushing. "Um, thank you. So do you." Even if it wasn't true, it was only polite.

Silence settled between them again. They'd already ordered and had taken the past ten minutes to simply pick at their food. Rai seemed too nervous to try and talk anymore, and she just didn't have it in her to speak. Was she really nervous? Was that why she kept calling up an image of that guy from her art class?

Naminé shook her head. No, that was the last thing she should be thinking about while on a date. She didn't even really know what that other guy had looked like. She'd just gotten a glimpse of him. She didn't even know his name! Why was she thinking about him at a time like this?

Rai suddenly took her hand and Naminé jumped, pulling it away. "Sorry…you just looked…troubled. Is something wrong?"

"N-no, thank you. I-I'm fine." Naminé forced a smile, shaking off the last vestiges of that redhead from her mind. She was probably only dwelling on him because he'd complimented her work, when no one else really did. That had to be it. She was just flattered that he'd noticed she had any talent. Rai had his finer points, she was sure. All she had to do was give him a chance to show them.

"Alright then, so…" Rai trailed off, his expression going blank. "I forgot what I was gonna say."

Naminé laughed lightly at that. _See?_ She told herself, _Rai's funny. Just by being himself._ Spending the day with the misfits had just temporarily confused her, but now she was back on track. This was where she belonged; on the arm of a popular, handsome jock, not a nameless nobody who'd just been passing through. What had she been thinking?

**xXx**

Once they got back to her house after dinner, Naminé was more than ready to just run into her house and forget that the night had ever happened. If she could, she would've gone back to that afternoon and say no to Rai's date offer. She'd thought that they'd had a lot in common. But apparently, she'd been wrong.

Rai walked her up to the door and said goodbye. When she reciprocated, he leaned in to give her a kiss, and Naminé quickly turned her head so his lips met her cheek. She smiled shyly up at him to soften the rejection. "Um, goodnight. Thanks for taking me to dinner. I had fun." She lied. He nodded and she quickly darted inside, pressing her back against the door and sighing in relief.

"So, how did it go?" Kairi asked, in her face instantly.

Naminé shrugged. "Not so bad…but…"

"But what?"

"Well…it's like…we have nothing in common. I thought we got along great when we talked at school. But just now…it was really awkward."

"Well, of course it was awkward," Kairi snorted, rolling her eyes. "I mean, it was your first date. All first dates are awkward."

Filled with hope, Naminé brightened. "Really?"

"Oh yeah," Kairi waved a hand. "Always. You two just need to spend more time together. And then you'll see how great a couple you really are."

Naminé nodded along with her friend's words, as she always did. "Okay. Well, thanks for the help, but I'm really tired."

"As you should be." Kairi nudged her towards the stairs and put on her shoes. "I'm off to find my Riku." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively before blowing Naminé a kiss and leaving.

Shaking her head, Naminé climbed the stairs to her room and flopped down on her bed. Kairi's words had reassured her. First dates were always awkward. So that meant, if they went out again, they'd have more fun. Yawning, Naminé got up and washed off her make-up and changed into some pajamas.

_First dates were always awkward_, she repeated to herself until she fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6 Numb

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Kingdom Hearts, the characters, or the song Numb by Linkin Park!

* * *

**Chapter 6**** Numb**

"Mick!" Riku threw on his shoes and still no sign of his baby brother.

"Mickey! We need to go! Now!"

"Five minutes!" Came the response from upstairs.

"No Mick, **Now**!" Finally he could hear footsteps on the stairs and he grabbed his keys, a hand on the door handle and waiting for his brother to come. Instead of his brother's pale blue locks, it was his dad that came down.

"Riku! What the hell are you yelling about this early?" Everything inside of Riku froze. "You know I need my sleep."

"I was trying to get Mickey down here, we're gonna be late and besides; he yelled back." Riku knew he went too far, the vein on his father's neck was pulsing and he slowly backed towards the door. He saw his brother come down and how he hid behind the banister when he saw their father. The silver haired teen felt bad, but didn't get the time to react before their dad went bananas.

"Mickey is **fourteen**. He doesn't know better. **You** on the other hand are **eighteen, **and should know better. Don't scream like that this early." He raised his hand as if to hit him, Riku closed his eyes.

- _Flashback -_

His dad was standing over his ten year old self. Blood was coming from his nose and he could hear six year old Mickey's sobs from the other room. He was afraid, because it was always like this. And he was the only one his dad ever hit. His mom was too beautiful and never cared, and Mickey was too young, too innocent and he didn't have all the requirements for being the best because Riku was oldest and supposed to follow his dad's footsteps.

No, it was him that was supposed to do all those things. And nothing he did was good enough.

-_End of flashback-_

His father stopped hitting him as the years passed, but he still had that power over him.

The older man lowered his hand and laughed at him.

"You're still as pathetic. Go to school, make me proud and shut up." He went up the stairs again; Mickey had snuck in to the kitchen so their father wouldn't notice him. Riku stood there, slightly trembling and taking deep breaths. When their father was gone, Mickey came out of the kitchen.

"Riku, are you okay?" The older of the two opened the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, we don't wanna be late."

"I'm sorry Riku, for being late and making dad mad at you."

"It's not your fault. Come on."

Riku locked the door behind him and got in his electric blue sports car, unlocking the other door for Mickey to get in. They fastened their seat-belts and Riku pulled out of the drive way. Riku turned on some music but otherwise the drive was quiet. Riku focused on the driving and Mickey didn't say anything, afraid to make his brother annoyed. Little did he know that Riku was just fed up. Fed up and sad that he couldn't do anything right.

Not even in school did he fit in. Everyone fit. He just wished that he did, too.

Sure; he had some friends and his girlfriend, but it felt like they didn't know him. That they didn't like him for who he was, but the mask he put up, someone he pretended to be.

He made a left turn into the school campus parking, parked the car on an open space and got out of the car. Mickey also got out and they walked their separate ways without a word. The younger of the two ran off to his freshman friends. On his way he accidentally walked straight into one of his brother's friends. He recognized the girl, she had been at their place but he just couldn't remember her name.

"I'm-" The wine haired girl shoved him.

"Watch it twerp!" Mickey's gaze fell to the asphalt.

"I'm sorry miss, it won't happen again."

Unknowing of his brother's problems Riku walked towards the yellow sports building to swim a few laps since he had a free period.

The changing room was empty except the brown haired guy that ran into his locker a few days ago's friend with the weird blond hair. The other guy just gave him a look that said that Riku could go fuck himself or something. Riku swallowed an answer. This guy always beat him in the contests; he was a really good swimmer.

Riku opened his locker, trying to ignore the annoying blond behind him. Against his will he had to admit that from what he saw from the corner of his eye, the blond had some pretty limber muscles. He pulled his shirt over his head and started to unbutton his jeans and got into his swim shorts.

The blond, what was his name? D… David? No that wasn't it. It was some unusual name with weird letters. De… Dexter? No… Den..yx? Yeah that was probably it.

Demyx left the changing room after closing his locker and locked it. Riku finished changing, locked and headed out to the pool. The blond from the changing room was already there, warming up and Riku dove in to the pool and started to warm up as well.

The water felt nice against his skin. He had missed this. He hadn't really had the time to swim in a while, because they had had a really big test in English last week. He swam back to the edge and gazed over the rectangular pool, deciding to do 25 laps. Then he noticed that the blond from the changing room was watching him from the lane next to his own. The blond looked at him, then the lanes, nodded towards them, eyes still on him. Riku accepted the challenge and the blond waved for someone there to time them and start them.

On the count of three they started. It started out as a tie, before Riku got a slight lead. When they turned around the blond was leading. They continued for a few laps and Riku felt for the first time in a long while that he actually had fun while competing.

After another five laps they ended their little competition with the blond winning. But it didn't really matter to Riku. He had had fun and a nice competition with the blond. They shook hands over the lane buoys, or to those less informed in swimming, little floaty things that separated the lines.

Half way through the swim practise the speakers that were everywhere in the school, where their principal Mr. Xemnas could do his little announces, started sounding and an up tone melody resounded before the principal's voice was heard and the whole room stopped moving to hear the words.

"_This is Principal Xemnas speaking. I want every junior and senior student in the auditorium at the beginning of second period. Back to class._"

Riku looked confused for a second, before he shrugged his shoulders and he swam a few more laps before he headed up to take a shower and get ready for the thing in the auditorium.

He grabbed his towel and headed out to the locker room and into a shower where he started to clean himself before he started shampooing his hair.

While he walked out of the shower room, a towel wrapped around his waist he saw the blond already half changed back to normal clothes. Or what he guessed he could call normal when it came to that dude. Tight dark pants with a blue tee and a white over shirt with a loose tie were not anything Riku would call 'normal clothes'. Oh well, the guy was probably more gay than a rainbow.

He quickly changed into his own baggy jeans and his white college sweater, packed his things into his locker and left the gymnasium with long steps. The fountain in the middle of campus came in view as he walked towards the pink C building where they had all their cultural classes and the auditorium was located.

All around and inside it was filled with milling juniors and seniors, waiting to get in to hear what Xemnas had on his chest. Riku located Rai and walked towards him.

"Hey man, what's up?" Rai shrugged his shoulders.

"I have no idea. I was just sitting in the hallway talking some to that blonde girl when Prof. Xemnas started talking about meeting up in here." A loud voice behind them dragged them from their conversation and they turned to see who it was that was yelling.

Riku sighed at the sight of that tall, lanky redheaded annoying misfit with his tail of subjects. There was the annoying blond from the swim hall, the new blond guy, the slate haired bookworm with his girlfriend and… Riku's train of thoughts crashed when he saw the brunet from last week. Sora.

Riku smiled to himself before the redhead started talking again.

"Everyone can calm down. We're back." Almost all students in there laughed with him but Riku just shook his head.

"Stupid annoying bastard" he mumbled to himself.

**xXx**

When a quarter hour or so had passed the doors were finally opened and the students crowded inside. Riku and Rai found a seat, but to Riku's great irritation, the redhead and his friends seated themselves in front of him. The silver haired one sighed and crossed is arms over his chest.

The auditorium was filled with voices from all the students waiting for the principal to say his peace so they could leave. Soon Xemnas came out on stage and the room was filled with the applause that everyone had to do to show respect, but no one really meant.

Xemnas placed himself in front of the microphone, cleared his throat and began speaking.

"I am principal Xemnas, as you all know," New applause. "And it is my great privilege to inform you that from today and two weeks forward, all of you are going to be part of a theme week we're going to have here at Starlight High. For two weeks all of your lessons are going to be about global warming and what we can do about it. You are to see movies, have discussions and a lot of other fun things." At this point the redhead in front of Riku stood up.

"Ey Mansex! Are you kidding me!" Snickers were spread across the audience and two girls, one with red hair and two black streaks and the other with completely black hair and thin black rimmed glasses laughed and gave cat calls to the redheaded guy.

"Come on, I know that at least the juniors have some stupid history project that's fuckin' huge," half of all the students in the auditorium screamed their approval, including the two girls and except the redhead's friends. The new guy looked like he wanted to sink through the floor and the blond from the gymnasium pulled at the redhead's sleeve.

" Come on Axel, drop it and sit down." He whispered. Axel, apparently, didn't listen but continued.

"And us seniors have a lot going on right now too, so you take your fake tan and drop this. We can do it another time." Every student in the room cheered, laughed and gave cat calls. Xemnas looked like he was about to blow up.

"Sit down Mr. Utada, before I give you another detention. We are going to have these theme-weeks whether you like it or not." At this point the slate haired guy rose, grabbed Axel's shoulders and seated him again before he could say anything more stupid.

"Bastard," was all the redhead whispered before the principal once again cleared his throat and continued his speech.

"Where was I? Oh right, as I said before Mr. Utada interrupted me; you are also supposed to take notes and by the end of these weeks you will hand in a paper of 5000 words to your head teacher. That was everything. Thank you." Xemnas exited stage and the students slowly started milling out. Riku looked at Rai and sighed.

"This is gonna be two looongs weeks."

**xXx**

Riku sighed as he placed his tray on the lunch table next to his friends. They had all been informed from god knows what source about the theme week.

"I so don't wanna do this paper." Kairi immediately clung to his arm.

"It's okay Riku, just get some stupid nerd to do it for you and you can skip. What about that guy that ran in to your locker? You can get him to do it for ruining your locker door with his fugly face." Everyone laughed at Kairi's statement, whether they found it funny or not. Riku just smiled and stroked her cheek.

"Yeah… Or I'll just do it. I'll see what happens."

Through a series of unfortunate events there was this poor little Roxas who walked by their table with his little friend Sora. And because today was such a bad day, Roxas stumbled over his own feet, making his soda mug fall over and drench a poor unsuspecting wine haired girl.

Said wine haired girl rose up, anger radiating from her. She was so mad; Sora almost believed that smoke would come out of her ears.

"What the hell did you just do!" She screeched towards the poor blond.

"I'm sorry, I stumbled, I didn't mean to get you wet. Here, have a napkin." He held out a napkin, but at the same time Axel came flying out of nowhere on to Roxas, making the blond once again stumble and in the meantime accidentally press the napkin and his hand against the wine haired girl's boobs. This made Riku flip and he rose.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to my girlfriend? Not only do you spill soda on her, you also _grope _her! Why you, I shoul-"

"Hold it!" Came Axel's voice and his hand crashed against Riku's broad chest.

"He didn't mean to spill soda on her and why would he wanna touch your disgusting skank of a girlfriend?" Everybody at their table gasped and Riku started hissing.

"Just because all of you in your little gang are a collections of faggots doesn't mean that you can call my girlfriend a skank." Axel just smiled at him.

"First of all; we have girls in our group too, and girls can't be 'faggots'. Second of all, I'm pretty sure she's straight. And last. You don't insult my friends." He grabbed a soda from Demyx's tray, threw the contents on the silver haired one before he kneed him in the stomach.

"Come on guys, let's have a smoke." The red head and his friends left the building, and every one of Riku's friends gathered around him to see if he was hurt. Mostly it was just his pride that had taken the worst hits.

**xXx**

After lunch, Riku made his way slowly down the hall to his English class. Kairi had tried her best to take care of him, though it was painfully obvious she was still fuming over having one of her favourite tops ruined, but Riku had just pushed her away. He'd left all of his friends staring after him as he left the cafeteria, wanting nothing more than to be alone. Sure, he could have gone after the redhead. He could have started a fight. Hell, he probably could have won too and made his point. But he was better than that.

Plus the fact that getting in a fight would only lead to trouble. Most of it coming from his dad who would most likely beat him. He could just hear the man's voice now…

"_Come on, pansy boy, you wanna fight, then fight!"_

And so he'd taken the high road and left the cafeteria, found a nice quiet corner on campus, and punched the wall, screaming until his fists bled and his throat was raw.

Sliding into an empty desk in close to the far wall, Riku propped his chin in one hand and stared out the window, waiting for the class to start.

Once the bell rang, everyone grew quiet as the teacher, Tifa, stood at the head of the classroom and folded her arms behind her back. Her long dark hair was tied back today, her outfit the proverbial black that showed off her midriff whenever she raised an arm. She was probably the favourite teacher of every male student in the entire school…seeing as she had the largest breasts, and though rumours circulated about them being fake; she claimed them to be real.

"Alright class, since you all know about the theme weeks, let's get started." Tifa began, her large, dark brown eyes soft and kind. She was a rather soft spoken woman, with a laugh hiding behind every word. She turned to her desk and collected a stack of papers. "We're going to begin the theme weeks with a timed essay. You have the entire block to finish. I want you to write me an essay all about what you personally know about global warming. It's affects on the environment, what it actually is, how we can prevent it, and so on. This will give me a basic idea on what to cover in the coming days."

As she started walking down the aisles of desks, she began to hand out the papers.

"I'm handing back your tests from last week. I'm proud of all of you. The lowest grade was only a B minus." Tifa bent down to retrieve a paper that had fallen to the floor and one of the guys, prompted by his friends, gave Tifa's behind a light slap.

Dropping the papers to the ground, Tifa whirled around and slammed her fist on his desk so hard, the entire thing jumped off the ground. Her eyes were narrowed for a moment before she straightened and smiled stiffly. "They'll be none of that in my classroom, young man." She remonstrated lightly, her tone still light and happy as before.

Riku watched the entire scene play out, mildly amused by how the guys in the general vicinity of the offence shook in something akin to terror as Tifa continued on her way, now humming softly. Once she made it to his desk, she set his test face down on his desk, giving Riku a soft smile.

"Good job," she whispered sweetly, moving on.

Riku waited until she was back to the front of the classroom again before flipping his paper over, eyes immediately scanning the top for his grade.

A.

Slapping the paper back down on his desk, Riku covered his mouth with one hand, eyes travelling over to stare out the window. His thoughts began whirling with the implications. He'd studied so hard. He'd thought he'd get his A plus for sure. Damn it.

_Dad's gonna kill me…_ he thought as he pulled out a fresh piece of paper and began to scribbled down his essay, trying to see what he was writing through a haze.

**xXx**

His frustration only grew as he was forced to sit through An Inconvenient Truth. Possibly the longest, most boring documentary ever made about global warming. But, because he was in French class, his teacher, Saïx, had muted the movie and put on French subtitles. Oh joy. Now they actually had to _watch_ the movie to know what was happening…not that anyone cared.

Riku took notes, like a good little student, all but glaring holes in the back of his teacher's head. He would've spoken out at his point, irritated beyond words, but Saïx wasn't a teacher you messed with. A majority of them would either snap back or just brush you off. Saïx, the blue-haired freak with those freaky yellow eyes and that intriguing, yet foreboding set of scars crossing his face, would do neither of those things.

He would beat you into a helpless pile on the floor.

Yes, that was illegal. And no, Saïx didn't care. You didn't piss the man off. Plain and simple.

Once the movie was _finally_ finished, Saïx turned the TV off and turned to the small class. Not many students took foreign language this far, and there were maybe fifteen students in French 4.

"Now that _that's_ over with," he sounded almost as pissed about the movie as the rest of the class. Riku smirked behind his hand. "We're going to have a quick quiz on it, so I hope you took notes." Saïx handed a stack of papers to each person sitting in the front row.

Once Riku received his quiz, handed the last few behind him, he stared down at the questions and raised an eyebrow. A majority of them didn't have _anything_ to do with the movie. Hell, with global warming in general. He was about to ask about it, when another student realized the same thing.

"What does the principal's birthday have to do with global warming?"

"Answer the damn question and stop whining." Saïx growled, glaring at them all.

Riku quickly scribbled down his answers. He answered to the best of his knowledge, but he had a sinking feeling that he'd fail this quiz…which would affect his grade point average…which meant his dad would have another thing to blame Riku for.

With a groan, Riku handed his quiz to his teacher as he left the classroom with the rest of the students as the bell rang.

**xXx**

Kairi was all over him the minute he got to his locker, clinging to his arm and professing how sorry she was about what happened at lunch, asking if Riku wanted her to do anything about 'the stupid dickhead of a reject who'd hurt him'.

Riku cast the girl a weak smile, taking comfort in the fact that at least _somebody_ cared enough to want to do something for him. He gave Kairi a small peck on the cheek and left her in the hall, promising to call her later. He weaved his way through the many students rushing to and from their lockers to get what they needed as fast as they could so they could get out of school.

Books tucked under one arm, Riku slowly made his way over to his car, already spotting Mickey leaning against the hood, waiting for him.

He actually managed to smile for real for his little brother. "Hey, Mick."

Mickey nodded at him, grinning. "Hey, bro."

Riku dug around in his pockets for his keys, frowning we he didn't immediately find them. Mickey watched him, an odd expression of amused confusion crossing his features. With a disgruntled sigh, Riku set his books on the hood and felt through all of his pockets for his keys. "Where the hell did I put them?" he muttered to himself.

"I know you're good looking, Ri, but I don't think it's necessary to grope your own butt…" Mickey chided with a soft laugh.

"Shut up you," Riku shot back with no real heat. He wanted to smash his head against the car multiple times as he realized he'd forgotten his keys in his swim locker. "Damn it. Stay here, I have to go get my keys out of the swim hall."

Riku did his best to ignore his brother's taunting laughter as he left the parking lot and quickly walked over to the yellow building.

_What an ugly color,_ he thought to himself for the thousandth time as he walked in. They really needed to pick a new color scheme. Yellow was just so…ugly and…gay.

He quickly located his locker and spun the lock, throwing the door open with the sole intent of grabbing his keys and getting the hell out of there. He just wanted to go home, do his homework, get whatever shit his dad had cooked up for him taken care of, then maybe call Kairi.

Unfortunately, fate didn't agree with him _at all_ today, because as Riku flung his locker door open, something slammed it shut, just barely missing his fingers.

Riku jumped back and pushed his hair off his forehead, staring wide-eyed around the locker room. It was amazing, when he was in here in the mornings alone, it didn't seem so big and empty, but as the bang from his locker echoed around him, Riku realized just how big and empty it truly was.

"What the hell…?" he murmured, glancing down at his feet for some reason. Sitting on the ground near his leg, Riku was surprised to see familiar chocolate colored spikes. "Sora?"

Glancing up dejectedly from where he sat, Sora rubbed his forehead, pouting. Riku was taken aback at how blue the boy's eyes were. Surely he would have noticed before, but he was stunned to see just how…intense they were. The color so vivid, standing out against his tan skin and dark hair. Once they're eyes met, however, Sora's entire demeanour changed.

Jumping to his feet, the boy took several steps back, hands up as if to fend him off. Sounding immensely contrite and a bit panicked, Sora apologized hurriedly. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to run into your locker, I didn't even see you! I'm so, so, so, sorry!" he slowly sidestepped around Riku, pausing for some reason at his side.

Quieting, the two of them stared at each other awkwardly, either unwilling or unable to speak. Sora's mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing came out. They both fidgeted and looked away, uncomfortable with the sudden silence hanging between them.

"So, um…yeah…sorry," Sora muttered a final time before booking it out of the locker room, his eyes trained on the floor.

Riku stared after him, unsure whether to be amused, confused, or upset. He chose to be amused and chuckled lightly as he opened his locker again and got his keys. _What a weird kid…_

**xXx**

The ride home was quiet and uneventful as always. He and Mickey had a pretty good relationship. They could sit in the same room together in silence and not be bothered by it or feel obligated to talk. Not that there would be much for them to say. 'How was your day?' seemed cliché and rather mommy-like to say, so Riku drew a blank. After that moment with Sora in the locker room, he'd felt the need to speak about something. Anything.

But Mickey just sighed and continued to stare out the window as they drove home.

Once they got there, Mickey bounded up to the front door and disappeared up the stairs to his room. Riku had a moment of wishing he could read his brother's thoughts before he figured what an invasion of privacy that would be.

Shaking his head, Riku kicked off his shoes and made his way into the kitchen for a snack. As a sort of afterthought, he made a second sandwich and left it on the counter. He knew his brother. When Riku got up to his room, as predicted, Mickey left his. Riku laid back against the headboard of his bed as he listened to Mickey's steps fade down the stairs. A few moments later, they returned and there was a knock on his door.

Riku smirked as he pulled his stuff out of his bag. "You're welcome." He called.

Mickey's door shut once more and Riku shook his head again as he settled in to do his homework.

_-Later-_

Riku made his way downstairs at around six, trying to think of what he could make for dinner. Though they had a maid that came in to clean, she refused to cook, stuck up bitch, so Riku had taken Chef class to make sure he, but mostly Mickey, ate more than sandwiches and soup.

His mother briskly walked through the kitchen from the back door, probably coming in from the pool. Her heels clicked rapidly against the tile as she whipped past, not even bothering to say hello or even look at him. She was the trophy wife, beautiful and entirely fake. Her nails were always manicured; her skin perfect and tan, not a blemish in sight, and her hip-length hair shone a soft blue in the muted light of the kitchen, not a single strand out of place.

Once she was out of ear-shot, Riku muttered curses about her as he started going through the cupboards to see what he had to work with. Mickey came into the room just as Riku growled a particularly nasty one. He froze as he saw the bewildered look on Mickey's face. "Uh…hey, Mick."

Silence, this time awkward, settled between them. Though Riku hated both his parents for being ignorant, selfish bastards, Mickey spent a majority of his time trying to earn their praise and attention. It had actually been a big problem between them when they'd been younger. Riku had always gotten the attention, all the praise, but though he still did, Mickey had found his own place, and no longer cared too much either way. At least, he didn't try so hard to earn their parents' respect anymore.

Riku set up the pots and pans, getting all the ingredients together to make spaghetti, since they hadn't had any pasta in a while. Mickey just toyed around with the flowers in the vase on the counter, his feet softly banging against the island counter's cupboard door.

As the air filled with the smell of the cooking sauce, the tension bled out of the room. Riku smiled softly to himself as he saw Mickey watching him work. It was one of those rare moments they shared together that Riku wished would last forever…because he knew that whenever these moments came, hell was sure to follow.

Sure enough, it came barrelling into the room as his father, eyes narrowed. "Riku!" he shouted, though Riku stood not three feet away. Blinking over at the man, Riku dimly took in his father's presence. As a professional athlete, the man was tall and fit, the perfect addition to his nasty temper and short fuse. His pale hair was cut short, serving to make his sharp features stand out all the more.

"Yeah?" Riku replied coolly, turning back to the stove.

"What did you say, boy?"

"Yes sir?" Riku turned back to his dad, seeing how his eyes narrowed even more.

Holding up the English test and shaking it a bit, he glared down at Riku. "What the hell is this?"

"A piece of paper."

"Don't get smart with me boy!" His dad popped him upside the head and Riku squeezed his eyes shut, biting back any response while fighting the urge to rub the throbbing spot. "I mean the grade. You only got an A? _AN A?_ That's just a fancy way to fail, Riku." His stare turned icy. "You know I only accept the best from you." He tossed the test at Riku as he turned away. "As far as I'm concerned you failed that test, boy. A plus or nothing."

Riku glared after the man as he tore the paper in half. "Fuck you!"

His dad whirled around, looking incredulous before pure rage descended on his face. "What?" the word was like a whip cracking through the air. Mickey flinched where he sat, too afraid to move and draw attention to himself.

They stood toe to toe, but Riku refused to back down. He was sick of being brow-beaten by his own father, sick of always being the failure when he did the best he could. He wasn't fucking _God_. "You heard me," Riku said quietly.

The smack was unexpected, and Riku blinked at the wall as the entire left side of his face began to burn. "You better respect your elders, boy." His dad turned away, noticing Mickey for the first time. "You watching? You better learn."

Mickey squeaked an intelligible reply, shrinking away as their dad's eyes narrowed once more and he took a step towards the younger boy.

"Stop being a pussy," he snapped, raising a hand as if to strike him.

Riku jumped in front of his brother, holding his arms out to block him. "Leave him alone!"

"You're as pathetic as ever," he shouted, "Protecting your pansy ass brother. He's a good for nothing piece of shit, just like you!"

Just as Riku lifted his fist to punch the man, the doorbell rang, interrupting their argument.

They all three stood there, unmoving and staring at one another. Finally, their dad backed off and, giving them one last look of disgust, stomped out of the room. "Answer the fucking door!"

Mickey clung to Riku's shirt all the way to the door, the smaller boy trembling. Riku opened the door, surprised to see Kairi standing on his doorstep with a bright smile. "Hey! I know you said you'd call, but I thought I'd stop by and surprise you." She giggled.

Riku let her in, prying Mickey's fingers off his back and shutting the door. "No…it's okay…I'm glad you're here." Oh, if only the girl knew just _how_ glad. Glad didn't even cover it. Kairi had pretty much saved him and Mickey from a brawl. "Come on in and sit down, I need to finish dinner, have you eaten yet?"

Kairi nodded that small, secret smile still on her face as she looked around the room contentedly. Riku tensed as his dad walked past her, but the man barely gave Kairi a once over before snorting and disappearing once more.

Once dinner was finished, Mickey ate quickly and disappeared upstairs, leaving Riku to clean up, not that he minded. Kairi came in behind him and wrapped her arms possessively around his waist. "What happened to your face, love?" she asked, reaching up and touching the raising welt on his cheek.

Riku flinched away and pulled her arms off him. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." He put the clean dishes away and forced out a smile. "You staying again tonight?" he hoped the answer was no, but figured it polite to ask anyways.

Kairi's smile was languid and, what he supposed was sexy. She fingered a lock of his hair, twirling it around her finger as she stepped closer. "Of course."

The house nearly echoed in its silence as the two of them left the kitchen and slowly made their way upstairs. Riku felt uncomfortable with the way Kairi laid so close to him as they settled down to watch some show on TV. Why it bothered him, he couldn't fathom. The last time she'd stayed over, Riku had been fine. So why now?

Riku turned the volume down low and slid down to lay on his pillows, tired. Tired from the day. Tired of life in general. He couldn't wait to get out of this fucking place…his one regret being that he had to leave Mickey behind alone here for four years once he graduated.

Frowning at that thought, Riku was oblivious to Kairi laying next to him and cuddling closer. He finally became aware of her presence again when she started kissing at his neck, one leg thrown over his. Somewhat irritated by how she was getting in his face when he wasn't in the mood, Riku pushed her away and rolled over, giving her his back.

"Riku…?" she asked quietly, that soft tremble in her voice apparent when she wasn't getting her way. He could just bet that if he turned around, he would see her big eyes filled with fake tears, her bottom lips sticking out and quaking. She cuddled up against his back, her hands sliding under his shirt.

Sick of her violating his personal space, Riku threw her hands off and gave her a hard look. "Listen, Kai, I'm not in the mood tonight, so either leave me alone or go home." He didn't have it in him to be sorry when she started crying, and Riku just rolled back over, ignoring her whimpering.

"Don't be mad at me…" she whispered, hugging him. "I'm sorry, baby. I just wanted to make you feel better."

Blowing out a frustrated breath, Riku made himself turn back to her, giving Kairi a brief, hard kiss to satisfy her for now. Kairi kissed him back eagerly, moaning in displeasure as he pulled away.

She finally got the message though and stopped trying to touch him. With a huff, Kairi settled against his chest and sighed. Riku absently wrapped an arm around her as he stared at the ceiling, fighting through all of his warring emotions. Anger, frustration, panic. And, strangely, amusement was bubbling up out of nowhere and Riku wondered if he were finally losing it.

His previous assumption had been right…it was going be a loooong two weeks. And he wasn't off to a very good start.


	7. Chapter 7 nothing can be explained

Disclaimer: I don't own KH or the characters, or FF or its characters, and I don't own the song Nothing Can Be Explained from the anime Bleach

* * *

**Chapter 7 Nothing can be explained**

-Zexion's PoV-**  
**

A series of soft, but firm knocks woke me from that foggy haze you always lingered in during the early morning hours. Not quite awake, but still not asleep. The door creaked open and I cringed internally at the sound, while verbally I could barely muster a groan as I rolled over.

"Up time, buddy." James said as he no doubt stuck his head in the door. Like he did every morning. "Come on, Zex, you don't want to be late, do you?"

I sat up after he closed the door, his footsteps retreating down the hall. I yawned and crawled out of bed, shivering at the ever present cold that came with morning. It also didn't help that it was nearing autumn, making the mornings, and days in general, cooler.

Rifling around in my drawers, I found an outfit, typical black jeans and midnight blue shirt. I snatched up a pair of clean boxers, some socks and left my room. The bathroom wasn't any warmer, in fact, the tiles under my bare feet were freezing, but it served to wake up my still sleepy mind. A quick shower, a change of clothes, and I was fully conscious in a flash.

I blinked up at my reflection as I brushed my teeth, wondering briefly if I should do something, anything with my hair. The way it grew naturally always placed it in my face, so I'd styled it to do so even more. I was growing tired of the mundane, but I couldn't be too bothered by physical appearances. I'm just not that kind of person. I rinsed out my mouth and finally left the bathroom, alert and ready for the day. Unlike a majority of my age group, I didn't stay up until ungodly hours doing who knew what for who cared what reason. I went to bed at a set time, whether I was tired or not, to get a full eight hours. Even if I just lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, I was _resting_ at least. It also served to make mornings easier for me and those around me. After all, how polite was it to growl at anyone who wished you a good morning, simply because you were daft enough to stay awake?

Its greatest perk, however, was the ability to concentrate. One could hardly learn anything when they were dozing on their desktop, no matter how smart they were.

Even brilliant minds like my own need sleep.

I wandered into the kitchen, where James, my foster-dad aka greatest man alive, was piling breakfast on two plates for us. I went to the fridge and poured two glasses of orange juice before sitting down in my usual chair. James sat across from me and we exchanged plates and cups with a laugh. James really was the best. He wasn't very old, somewhere in his early thirties, and he was the only family I knew. Although he was more like a big brother than a father-figure, we still got along fairly well, each respecting the other's privacy, but still able to be open when something was bothering us.

Not to say we didn't have our share of fights. Everybody did. If they didn't, they'd have the perfect relationship. And that…just didn't exist. If people always got along, things would get boring fast. Very fast. And they wouldn't be able to stand each other after a while. No, James and I didn't have the perfect relationship…but we got along.

We ate relatively quickly, both aware that time was of the essence, especially in the mornings when there was school to get to and work to be done. I told him about the theme weeks, since I'd neglected to the night before, and he seemed just as confused as I had felt when I first heard Xemnas announce it.

"They're really shoving that down your throats, now, aren't they?" he asked as we finished and went to wash our plates and cups.

I shrugged. "It's not a big deal. I'll just finish all the work for the theme weeks in class and work on the history project at home."

James turned to face me with a critical eye. "You sure that's not overdoing it?"

"I've done it before." I replied coolly.

He hummed thoughtfully before turning to leave the room. "Well, as long as you know your limits, Zexion, I'm not going to say anything."

I grinned as I went to put my shoes on. Yeah…James and I understood each other.

James drove me to school, something he did rarely. Most mornings together, we found something really random to talk about, and more often than not, we had each other laughing by the time we pulled into the school parking lot. Today, however, was a quiet day. The two of us just sat, off in our own world, thinking about whatever. I know personally that I was trying to come up with some sort of plan. Those daft teachers and their constant assignments. Didn't they realize that the workload was getting too high?

Once we parked, I glanced over at James, watching blankly as he tried to fix his dark hair, frowning at his reflection in the rear-view mirror. Smirking, I unbuckled my seatbelt, slung my bag on my shoulder and opened the car door.

"Ego is the greatest downfall of many a great man, James." I quoted, closing the door on his half confused, half incredulous expression with a laugh. He was too easy sometimes.

As James drove off, I took my time, slowly making my way towards the stairs leading up to the front doors of the green main building. I frowned up at the gigantic letters spelling out the school's name. I'd never understood the need to call so much attention to the school. Then again, with a principal like Mr. Xemnas, it wasn't too much of a surprise.

I sat on a stair, checking my watch and noting that it was about a quarter to eight. Was it really such a chore to get here a little early? It irked me that I always had to sit here for a good fifteen minutes before anybody showed up. Was it really so much to ask to be to school on time?

I'd been sitting there for a good five or ten minutes before Fuu showed up, looking more pensive than usual. I called her name, but she just looked up at me, then looked away. The rejection hurt, and I couldn't help but be concerned as she walked past me up the stairs, mumbling something about going into a class early. I knew it was a lie, but I didn't stop her. She'd been my best friend for years, and it was bothering me that she'd been acting so strangely lately.

Figuring I'd make her talk to me about it later, if for no other reason than to excuse the rude way she'd brushed off my greeting, I rooted around in my bag to look for a book. When there was nothing to do and no one to talk to, read. That was my philosophy…though lately even _that_ had been getting boring. Maybe I needed to find a new subject to read about…

More and more people began arriving, and soon the all too familiar nerdy junior, Sora and his nerdy sophomore counterpart, Pence, wandered over to stand nearby, arguing over…pie? Oh lord, first muffins, and now pie? I groaned through my smile. Those two needed help…soon.

"Pence, chocolate pie is the best ever!" Sora argued, face screwed up in…was that supposed to be a frown? Sora couldn't pull off frowns.

Pence snorted. "I'd disagree, Sora, while it's a very delicious flavour, apple pie is simply the greatest of all time."

"Chocolate!"

"Apple!"

"_Chocolate!_"

"_Apple!_"

"Banana!"

I glanced up at the intrusion into the argument, spotting Demyx standing between the two brunet boys, grinning from ear to ear. Sora and Pence just glared at him in a mixture of confusion and irritation.

"You aren't a part of this, Demyx." Sora mumbled. "And banana pie is gross."

"I agree with Sora…for once." Pence added.

Poor Demyx looked so confused, I noted with a grin. "Pie? I thought we were just yelling things we liked…"

Demyx got involved in the argument then, claiming that cherry pie was, and I quote, "Deliciousness incarnate," I didn't even know Demyx knew such words, let alone knew how to use them correctly in a sentence.

"Chocolate, people, chocolate." Sora countered.

"Apple pie, damn it!" Pence growled.

"Cherry!" Demyx shouted happily, nowhere near as serious as the other two with the debate.

"Peach cobbler," I broke in with a laugh. The three of them stopped talking and stared at me. I just smiled at them and sat back. "What?"

Demyx started laughing and came over to sit by me while Sora shook his head, sticking his tongue out.

"_Yuck_, too much sugar."

Pence stared at Sora in surprise. "There's such a thing as _too much sugar_ for you?"

And there they went, arguing about that. I chuckled and turned my attention to Demyx, who was pouting at me. How very immature.

"Yes, Demyx," I sighed. "What is it?"

"You didn't wait for me. I got up early and went to your place, but you were already gone." Demyx waved his arms around as he told his tale of woe…forgive the sarcasm. "I thought we were gonna walk to school together!"

Shaking my head slightly, I replied, "Demyx, you didn't get up early enough. Besides, James offered a ride, and it would've been rude if I'd turned him down after he went through all the trouble to get up early."

Demyx laughed and smacked me on the back. "You're such a mannerly person…that's cool, but doesn't it get boring always doing what people expect?"

Highly offended by his statement, I raised an eyebrow at him. "I have my own expectations that I live up to, thank you very much."

"I didn't mean it like that, Zexy, I just meant that you should stop following the rules." Demyx advised, nudging me with his shoulder. "Live a little."

"I live quite well," I claimed with a smile. Demyx was always trying so hard to cheer everybody up if they weren't up to his standard of 'happy'.

Roxas stumbled up to us, looking about ready to fall over. Though I wanted to be a friend to the boy and feel concern, I could only stare at his attire and think how 'popular wannabe' he looked. Was he part of the prep group in his old school? I had to wonder now. What did we really know about him? In that moment, I made it my sole duty to find out everything I could. The thought of doing the research perked me up and my morning was back on the good track.

Now I had something to waste my time in the Attendance Office this morning with. After all, it's not like I file and run errands for a solid hour every day. And I usually found someone else to do that for me anyways. Alright, so, my morning would be spent snooping into Roxas' back round. I smiled to myself, the expression fading as I heard a certain, unforgettable, catch-phrase…followed promptly by a curse…

"Watch it, got it memorized, bitch?"

Oh joy, Axel was here.

Sora and Pence were back to yelling pie flavors at each other. Though Sora stuck with chocolate, Pence was now trying different flavors to get the spiky-haired brunet to say something else.

"Chocolate,"

"Apricot?"

"Chocolate,"

"Banana cream?"

"Chocolate."

"Strawberry?"

"Chocolate."

"Um…Blueberry?"

"Choc—'' before Sora could starkly finish his one word mantra, Axel broke into their argument, much like Demyx had done.

"I'm partial to grape, myself."

"…grape pie?" Sora and Pence said together, both with the same amount of disbelief.

Axel snorted. "_Pie?_ Hell no, I thought you were talking about condom flavors."

Aaaaand, the morning was officially Axel-ized.

My good morning wasn't going as planned. I sighed as I practically galloped down the empty, echoing hallways, trying to remember where the stupid class was…what class was I even looking for again? I glanced down at the slips of paper in my hand. Oh, right…

Shaking my head, I located the classroom, delivered a slip, and collected the attendance sheet before leaving. It really got on my nerves when the people assigned to deliver the attendance sheet for their classes, didn't do it. It meant more work for me. And I'd much rather just sit in the Attendance Office and do as I pleased.

On my way back to the office, a brightly colored poster caught my eye. I barely glanced at it, noted that it said "Student Spring Play" and tore it clean off the wall in one smooth motion. Stuffing the crinkled paper into my pocket, I kept walking. It probably wasn't the most proper thing to do, but I was in a hurry to get my work done so I could at least start on that background check I'd appointed for myself.

Besides, most of the people I knew were into drama and things like that. Wryly, I reminded myself that none of them, least of all Axel or Demyx, needed drama lessons. They seemed to have a natural knack for it.

Math…boring. It was always the same. Write some new equation on the board, explain said equation, try to convince the students when and how it could be used in real life situations, and then assign pages in our textbooks of repeating applications of that equation.

I jerked up in my seat as I realized I was slumped over, thinking such sarcastic thoughts. I enjoyed math, I really did. And because of the theme weeks, we were working on theoretical equations to calculate the life of an ice berg with the factors of weather, size and temperature. Why was I so off today? It wasn't that I was having a bad day, not at all. In fact, today was actually going fairly well in my opinion. None of my friends had gotten into trouble that I knew of at the moment, I didn't have to be the mediator…yet. And the sun was even making a valiant effort to warm the day.

A glance down at my paper and I balked at the sight of the little doodles there, instead of my work. What was wrong with me today? My mind kept wandering…shaking my head as if that would clear it, I erased the doodles and focused on my school work. I managed to get the class work done along with half of my homework. Not what I'd planned, but at least I didn't have the entire assignment along with the history project to worry about.

The bell rang and I yawned as he packed my bag. I waved at the few people I recognized in the hall as I made my way to Computer 101, a majority of them adults. Oh well, I'd always gotten along better with the older crowd.

I shivered a bit in the chill outside as I quickly made my way over to the old, crumbling building that housed the more…extra-curricular classes, such as drama and fine arts classes. Oh, the school had to keep up appearances and put all the academic classes in the newer buildings. Three cheers for the public school system…

Wow…I was in a sarcastic mood today.

Fuu ended up sitting in the chair next to mine once we arrived in class. It was strange, since she usually liked her space and sat at least one chair away. Today, she just sat, turned on her computer, and started browsing random sites on global warming…which was the only thing we _could_ do for this class. And since Mr. Highwind wasn't one to think too much on his lesson plan, he just allowed us a free period, essentially.

I tapped Fuu's shoulder to get her attention, greeting her nicely. "Good morning, Fuu."

Flicking her hair out of her face, Fuu sighed and turned to face me. She didn't exactly frown, but she didn't smile either. In a prime, rather cold tone, she replied, "Good morning, Zexion."

"What's wrong? Did I do something to offend you?"

Another sigh. She shoved her keyboard away, her expression now more earnest. "Zexion…we're friends, right?"

"Of course," I replied instantly. "Why would you doubt that?"

Shrugged, she went on without answering. "So…that means you like me, right?"

Raising an eyebrow at her question I nodded slowly. "What would be the point in being friends with a person, if you didn't at least like them?"

Fuu seemed to relax at that and she finally smiled at me, though there was a disappointed look in her eyes. "Good point." She turned back to her computer, pausing to glare as Roxas and Sora started laughing over something Pence had sent them. "Ugh, why do these dorks have to be in this class with us?"

"Because we aren't the only people in the world, and this class wouldn't exist if 'dorks' like them didn't sign up for it?" I ventured quietly, deciding that I'd use this free period with computers to do that research I didn't get a chance to do earlier.

She gave me an odd look, her eyes lingering on me. I just ignored the look as I intently focused on my work. It was always exciting to go where you weren't supposed to go, and the school was so stupid and trusting, allowing free access to all student files from any server in the school's system. I'd almost gotten into Roxas' file when…

I sat back, staring at the block. The library? The library was blocking student files?

"Leon," I shook my head with a smile. "Sneaky. Oh well, I'll do it tomorrow." I closed out and pulled up the internet, just to make it look like I was actually doing something.

"What about Leon?" Fuu asked, looking confused and worried. I shrugged at her question.

"Nothing."

Sora and Roxas were trying to cover up their giggles, but both were staring at their screens and laughing. Hardly inconspicuous. They were going to get into trouble if they didn't…

"HEY! YOU TWO! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Cid screamed from the other side of the room. Sora and Roxas sat up straight, faces still twisted into goofy smiles.

"Yes sir," they chorused as they slowly sank down into their chairs, disappearing from my view behind the tall monitors on the table in front of them.

Just as I had the urge to laugh at them, the bell rang and I confusedly glanced up at the clock. Class was, indeed, already over. It was lunch now.

"Time flies, huh?" Fuu asked as we turned off our computers and stood to gather our things.

"Tempus Fugit." I agreed nodding. Hey, what was the point of knowing Latin if I never used it every once in a while?

Lunch hour. One would suppose it was a chance for students to mingle with friends, eat a wholesome meal to keep their minds and bodies going for the final push through the school day.

Though it was these things, I'd have to say that more than simply eating and interacting occurred during lunch. Namely, this was the time of day where my brood tended to waver and get into trouble. One in particular.

Axel.

I purchased my lunch and made my way over to the table I usually sat at with everyone else. A majority of them were already there. Sora and Pence were still, _still_, arguing about pie, and I wondered how long it would be until Sora gave up and threatened Pence's technology with an untimely death in order to win. I sat across from them, next to Fuu, who actually gave me a smile. I smiled back and pulled out what was left of my math homework. Hey, less to do when I got home, right?

I'd spotted Axel and Demyx near the cafeteria doors, so I knew they were going to come and sit eventually. However, I didn't expect, and I should have, for Axel to make a detour by the main prep table. The redhead sat in a free seat, earning him strange and angry looks from everyone sitting there. He said something with a rather fake smile, and was up and out of there quicker than a flash as they started throwing things at him.

Demyx sat on my other side, laughing as Axel sat across from him, holding up a cup of pudding that had been thrown as a sort of prize. Roxas showed up at some point, sitting on the other side of Fuu and getting involved in the pie argument.

"What did you do this time?" I asked with a sigh, taking a bite of my sandwich.

Axel shrugged, grinning. "Nothing. I simply shared my opinion…they apparently disagreed."

Demyx's face was turning red as he tried to catch his breath. "I can't believe you actually did that. You don't have to do every dare!"

"What can I say? I'm an overachiever." Axel stated proudly, standing so he could reach over to steal some of Roxas' chips. I couldn't help but smile as he failed when the blond slapped his hand rather hard without even looking away from the two brunets he was debating with.

Shaking the reddening appendage with a frown, Axel sat back down.

"Hey Axel, that reminds me of that one time…you know, when we skipped fourth and went to that park?" Demyx prompted, nudging the redhead across the table.

I watched with interest as Axel nodded with a laugh. "Yeah, except that girl slapped me in the face."

"That's what you get for hitting on her."

"Hey, I wasn't hitting on _her_."

"Axel! Her husband? Really?" Demyx snickered.

"The guy looked like a total prude, I had to." Axel defended. "And that's nothing compared to that time when you raped the mall's fountain."

Demyx fell onto the table, laughing hysterically, and I watched curiously as he and Axel continued to recall all the crazy things they'd done when they'd skipped class. I sat and listened, my math work completely forgotten. Everything around me dissolved into nothing, and I began to wonder if maybe…maybe _I _should skip…just once. Just to see what it was like. Maybe build some fun memories like Axel and Demyx.

I still had two classes before school was out. Then again, I didn't have to do it today, I could do it whenever, right? But my restless mind, the way I'd been off all day…maybe I needed a break, something different. Break through the mundane. Find excitement. Or even just the knowledge that I'd done something _against the rules_ for once in my life.

Now _that_ sounded like an adventure in and of itself.

**xXx**

As I was walking down the corridor of the mail building Demyx's words from this morning haunted my brain

"_I just meant that you should stop following the rules."_

Maybe he was right; maybe I am too uptight. It sounded kind of fun to just skip a class and see what the others would say. Question is; which class? Gym is about as pleasant as getting a lobster down your boxers. Psychology though is like getting Axel in there. Eww, there's a mental image I seriously didn't need. Psychology it is. Which gives me about… three minutes to get off school campus before someone finds me.

I left the campus quickly and walked around town for a while before I found a Starbucks not far from campus. I entered, ordered a Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino and sat down in a corner by one of the windows. Don't really know why, but I like observing people who walks by. Time passed as people did. There came what I supposed to be a mom, hurrying down the street, probably to pick up her kid. A business man, complete with suit and portfolio came in and ordered a coffee-to-go and exited again. A bunch of girls walked by, all dressed in short skirts and I presumed they were the freshman preps in school. My thoughts were interrupted by a light, feminine voice.

"Excuse me, can I sit with you?" I looked up and was met by a pair of the palest blue eyes and palest blonde hair I've ever seen. I nodded towards the girl and continued to stare out the window. We sat in silence and I took a sip of my coffee. After a while the girl spoke up again.

"You don't recognize me, do you?" My gaze fell on her again, and I got to admit; there was something vaguely familiar with her but I couldn't quite place her and I told her so. She just smiled shyly towards me.

"I'm Naminé, I spent the other day with you guys, Axel and Demyx brought me in." When she said it, it hit me and I fully recognized her.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Her smile became polite.

"It's okay. So… What are you doing here?" I shrugged at her.

"Not much… Skipping psychology. You?" Her head tilted to the side.

"Why are you skipping? I had a free period, and I was the only one from my group who had it, so I just figured I was in the mood for a Frappuccino." I nodded. There was something about this girl that made me wanted to spill my guts about why I skipped. She seemed reliable and really easy to talk it was the blue eyes...

"Well… My friend thought I was being so uptight always following the rules, and he and this other friend always go out and do weird stuff, like skipping, and my friend, Demyx, thinks the other friend, Axel, is really cool. And I guess I want him to think I'm… I don't know… I just don't want him to think I'm some tight ass prude or whatever." She took a sip from her Styrofoam cup and nodded slightly.

"Do you have special feelings for Demyx, or are they just friendly feelings?" This statement caught me so off-guard I almost tipped my cup over.

"No! I'm not gay!" At least I don't think I am…

"Is he?"

"I don't know. I think so, yeah." She nodded again.

"Why is it then so important that he doesn't think you're a 'tight ass prude'?" I drank the last of my drink and rose.

"It was nice talking to you Naminé, but I really need to go to my gym class now. See you some other day." I quickly left the small coffee shop and walked back to school. Stupid girl. Of course my feelings towards Demyx are only friendly… Right?

**xXx**

I walked out on the football field and met Roxas and Fuu. Fuu looked at me.

"Where were you during psychology?"

"I skipped it…"

"WHAT!" Roxas was more reasonable.

"You shouldn't skip Zexion… It's habitual…" Yeah, like you're one to talk.

"Relax guys, it was a onetime thing." Roxas crossed his arms.

"Yeah, that's what you say now. Soon you'll end up skipping every class like Axel." Fuu snorted.

"No, next thing he know he IS Axel." I rolled my eyes.

"Guys, you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Relax." Roxas snickered.

"Nobody is Axel but Axel." Fuu grunted.

"Oh, go shove it Blondie, for someone who claims to hate that redhead so much, you talk an awful lot about him." She glared at him.

"Shut up!" Roxas spun around and walked away with those words. Fuu and I looked at each other, each with one eyebrow cocked, before Yuffie came out on the field.

"Come on, we're going to the running tracks." We followed her and then lined up.

"Okay. Here's the deal kids; as you all know we have these little theme weeks right now. Personally I hate them, but I gotta follow them, or I'll get fired… So you just run around the tracks, pretend you are the earth revolving around the sun." A black haired girl in the back of the crowd raised her voice.

"Are we gonna run for the whole period?" Yuffie crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Longer if you don't shut up and start running." We all sat off, running in different paces to get around the stupid tracks. God this was annoying. Why didn't I skip gym instead? Right… Lobster or Axel… LOBSTER, LOBSTER!

My friends sat off ahead of me, but I kept a steady pace. Why rush it? I can just run around, think about other stuff.

_20 minutes later_

I swear; if I have to do one more lap, I'll kill myself. I checked my wristwatch. Ho shit, are you kidding me? 40 frigging more minutes? No way. How can I get out of this?

I pondered this while I ran around. Then I had an idea.

If I pretended to stumble and fall, then I have to go to the nurse and I'll be excused. Unfortunately it didn't end that well; I fell straight on a rock and wounded my knee pretty badly. Fuu came running up to me, as well as Yuffie and some of the other students. I think I saw one girl fall over and faint when she saw the blood flowing out of my knee, but her friend took care of her and she soon came back to consciousness. Fuu flailed her arms.

"Oh my God, Zexion, are you all right?" Yuffie took a look at me.

"That doesn't look too good. Go and wash it off or something and then go by Aerith." Fuu rose.

"I can follow him." Yuffie waved her off.

"Aw, hell no, you have to run. Besides; he's a big boy; he can take care of himself." I rose and limped towards the main building to find the nurse office. On my way over I got assaulted by a blond shadow and I almost fell over again. I screamed at the pain and the person flew off me.

"Oh my, I am so sorry Zexion. I didn't see you were hurt, what happened?" Of course. No one else would jump on you from behind but Demyx.

"I fell over in gym, and got a pointy rock straight in my knee, so I'm on my way to Aerith." Demyx nodded and I started walking again. He came up beside me.

"I'll follow you there."

"You don't have to. Don't you have a class right now?" He shrugged.

"Not really… We got out early. I had music and my teacher thought I'd done well so he let me go."

"Where's Axel then?"

"Raping a violin somewhere I guess." He laughed at me and I just smiled slightly. My knee was seriously getting the better of me. We reached the nurse office and I knocked while Demyx sat down in the waiting room and, low and behold, pulled out a book. By Paulo Coelho! Oh dear. Take cover, the apocalypse is near.

Aerith opened the door and gasped when she saw the blood.

"Oh dear. Come in Zexion." She opened the door and let me inside. I saw down on a britt while she searched for rubbing alcohol and some cotton. When she found it she poured some of the alcohol on the cotton and started to clean my knee. It stung. A lot. I scrunched my eyes close and looked away.

"It burns."

"I know, I'm sorry honey, but it is super effective." I bit my lip at the pain. This was even more painful than getting that stupid wound in the first place. When she was done she put some bandages around it and then she patted my knee.

"Alright, you're good to go." She smiled at me as I rose and limped (slightly thank you very much) out of the room. Demyx rose when I came out, Aerith, who had followed me to the door smiled at him.

"I don't even wanna know how many times I've seen you waiting out here." Demyx laughed and scratched his neck.

"Well… Better out here than in there, right?" She smiled again and nodded before she closed the door with a "Be careful now boys." We waved her off and walked out of the waiting room. Demyx looked at me.

"Wanna go and get your stuff? The others should soon be let out and then we're going to Axel's place." I nodded and we went to the changing rooms where I quickly got dressed and we went out and waited on the bleachers. Demyx sent a text message to Axel, telling him where we were and we waited for the rest of the gang.

**xXx**

When we came to Axel's place we walked to the living room and sat down in our usual seats. Fuu had left us, with the excuse that she needed to do some homework. Axel rose and went in to the kitchen to get something to drink and I followed him. We worked with finding glasses, and making juice. Naminé's words from earlier haunted me.

"Axel… You're… gay, right?" Axel dropped the glass he was holding.

"Excuse me?" He started sweeping up the glass shards from the floor.

"You're gay, right?"

"Yeah, but where the hell did that come from?" I waved him off and continued.

"How did you… figure it out?"

"I was in… I dunno.. Freshman year? And then I met Demyx. He was fun and care free. Not to mention super hot." It felt like rock to the stomach.

"Oh."

"Yeah... Why did you ask?" Just at that moment said blond showed up in the door way.

"Jeez guys, what's taking you so long?" I turned my back to them both and left the room with my hands full of glasses. Demyx looked after me before he turned to Axel.

"What's up with him?" Axel shrugged his shoulders before he shoved some more glasses to Demyx and took the containers with juice to the living room. We played video games for a good hour or two when I remembered the note I found earlier in the corridor about the spring play.

"Hey guys… I found this note earlier…" I pulled it out of my pocket and showed it to them. "It's about some student spring play and I thought that some of you might be interested." They flew over each other to get the paper out of my hand. Demyx won, but to my great despair he landed over my lap.

"A play, which one?" He read it and Axel just laughed.

"What is it this time? Macbutt?" I sighed and smacked him over the head.

"That's Macbeth you freak show." Demyx, who still were lying sprawled all over me, looked at him.

"No it's not decided yet… They're gonna have a meeting the first Monday after the theme weeks, to see who's interested and then they're gonna decide which play they're gonna do. The teachers who's gonna help are Leon, Cloud and Tifa. Well it might be fun. I'm gonna join." He smiled.

"Mm, that's great Demyx, now would you please get off me?" I sighed and Demyx rose with a pout.

"Your lap is nice to lie on." He laughed; just as the others did and I looked down to hide any eventual blush. Sora giggled.

"I wanna join too. It could be fun." Demyx nodded.

"Yeah, come on Axel, you too. It's our senior year; we gotta do something to make them remember us."

"I think you've managed with that already guys." Roxas muttered but Axel just grinned.

"Sure, it could be fun." Demyx smiled.

"Great." A slight jealousy crept over me when Demyx asked Axel to join too. Demyx had made Axel gay… What if he had feelings for Axel too? No, shut up Zexion, back to focus. I am **not** gay, and especially not for **Demyx**. He is annoying, too loud, too skittish, too jumpy, and too intrusive. No, I am not falling for him. Nuh uh, no way. To my great luck Roxas changed the subject.

"You have no idea what Zexion did today." I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. What the hell had I done? Demyx looked at me, eyes huge.

"Except falling in gym?" Roxas shook his head.

"No.. that little bastard is trying to be like you guys. He **skipped** psychology today." Demyx flew on me again.

"WHAT! Oh, I am so proud of you Zexion." Oh. My. God. He's hugging me. Axel looked at me as if I were some kind of UFO.

"Seriously?" I nodded.

"What did you do during that time then? I didn't see you anywhere around school?" I shrugged (which, I may add, was a little hard with Demyx clinging to me).

"I went down to a nearby Starbucks, where I by the way met that Naminé-girl who followed you guys around the other day." Demyx looked at me.

"How was she doing?"

"Fine I guessed. She had a free period, and she was the only one from her gang who had it so she went to that Starbucks too. Now can you please release me again?" He did as I asked and we continued with the video game and just hung around. After a while Axel rose.

"What do you say guys? How 'bout a smoke anyone?" We all rose and headed on out to the balcony. They lit their foul cancer sticks and Sora looked over the rail.

"This is actually pretty high." Axel grinned.

"Yeah, you don't wanna fall over." At the words he grabbed Sora's waist and started tickling him, cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth. Sora screamed out of laughter and we all smiled.

"Alright Axel, that's enough, don't kill your friends." We all looked at Reno who stood in the balcony entrance.

"Oh hi Reno." The older redhead waved to us all before he closed the door and joined us for a smoke of his own. We stood out there for a good fifteen minutes, just talking and enjoying the fresh air. After a while it got chilly though and I decided that it was probably time to head home. I told the others so and we headed in again. Demyx decided to join me and head home too. Roxas and Sora was going to hang around for a while longer.

"Hey, by the way guys… This Friday, we're having a party here." Reno inquired. We all nodded. That sounded like fun. Demyx and I took our stuff and left the house, and outside I waited for Demyx to get his bike and we were on our way. For some reason the walk was awkwardly silent. I just didn't know what to say. I was so stuck in my thoughts, and Demyx seemed like he had a lot on his mind also. Every now and then he tried to stir up a chat, but I just wasn't in the mood. Naminé, that little witch, what had she done to me?

When we finally reached my house I turned to Demyx.

"Oh well, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye" I ran in to the house before he even got a chance to say a word. I closed the door behind and took a deep breath. Everything was going to be just fine.

Hopefully.

**xXx**

Outside Demyx just stared at the closed door and his friend who just ran away.

"What the? Oh well. If he got a problem he'll hopefully tell me…" He walked his way home, mind occupied with a pair of blue eyes, partly covered by long dark bangs.


	8. Chapter 61 and 'X' never marks the spot

**Disclaimer: I don't own KH, the characters, or any of the songs used!**

* * *

**Starlight High **

**Chapter 6.1 and 'X' never marks the spot**

As I locked the door behind me, I sighed. I was so sick of this I could scream. It was so cold. Not outside, no no. But home. My dad being the ass he is and my mom always working, always tired. It was okay now; I was on my way out of the house, to school where I had my friends. It was okay now. Snap out of it Demyx, come on. My old (once) navy blue converse led me to the bike stand we had on our yard, I unlocked my dad's bike, since my own is broken, led it out from the drive way. If I wanted to I could've driven… If my car would've worked that is. I laughed to myself and shook my head. Stupid car. Stupid bike. Stupid life.

Don't get me wrong; I'm a happy guy. Just don't leave me alone with my thoughts, please?

I jumped on my bike and started cycling down the street. The world was still green after the summer, even though it wouldn't last much longer. At the river I saw Zexion's house at the end of the road and continued down the passing road. Any other day I would go by his house and pick him up, but today we have a sleep in, and I was gonna go for a swim before we started. It never was that many around during this time of the day. During any other school hour you could almost bet it would be nearly full, because it was always someone who had a free period or a gym class, and after school was even worse. But early mornings were good.

I continued towards the school and it hit me as I watched my surroundings. How unfamiliar this town was, even though I've grown up here. Do you know how it feels to be a stranger in your child hood town? I've seen this road, these trees every day for the last twelve years of my life and it feels like I've never seen them before. I didn't recognize them. Everything looked so... wrong. Like… like I don't belong here. It was a horrible feeling. Like something clenched in my chest, at the same time as I felt hollow and empty. Empty to be foreign in a town I grew up in, where I played in the streets. At the same time I don't even wanna be here. It's my last year of high school now and then I can finally leave this alien town. Would I miss it?

Probably not.

**xXx**

I reached the school ten minutes later, parked my bike by a tree and headed towards the sports hall. The changing room was to my big joy empty, and I started changing in to my Speedo like swim trunks which I hated, but they were good for the sport even though they looked like hell. Oh well. When I was standing there, shirtless, working on unbuttoning my jeans the door opened. Oh joy; it was the silver haired jock guy who harassed Sora the other day. I gave him a murderous glance and pulled my dark jeans off. In some weird way I managed to get rid of my boxers and change into the swim shorts in record time. That stupid silver haired guy thinking he was something else; probably thinking he was more worth than the rest of us, seemed to be in his own world.

I gathered my stuff and quickly left the changing room, that guy was starting to freak me out. It felt like he was checking me out, and besides I was pretty sure he had a girlfriend.

All my previous downs and heavy thoughts were washed away when I got into the water. It encircled me and lulled me calm. I took a few laps, just to calm down and warm up for my little training session. Earlier I didn't bother to fix my hair since it was gonna get wet anyway, so I must've looked like a freak. A gentle smile played on my lips at the thought and I noticed the boy from the changing room claiming the lane next to mine. He started warming up as well, but something seemed off with him. Usually he was a pretty good swimmer, since he had the body for it, tall, muscular and the broad shoulders you get from swimming, but he looked… I don't know, but it seemed like something was wrong. I did a few more laps but I still couldn't shrug the feeling of off me. Somehow I felt bad for him, don't ask why. Guess I am a sensitive guy, or whatever, but I couldn't just stand there and watch him. Or... not stand but you get my point. So I did what always cheered me up. I challenged him to a swim contest.

He accepted my challenge and I waved a friend of mine over who worked in the swim hall and asked her to time us. We decided for ten laps. My friend with the long red hair grabbed a timer and waved us of. After a few seconds he got the lead, but what can I say? I am a slow starter. It was an awesome feeling, just racing for the fun of it. The adrenaline pumped in my veins as we turned and I claimed the lead. It continued like that for the next few laps, us fighting over the lead, claiming it and then loosing it. However the race ended with me winning. He didn't look sad over this though, but he actually looked like he had had a lot of fun, and he smiled towards me as we shook hands.

Afterwards he sat of again, doing more laps, while I stayed at the edge, deciding to change a few words with Ariel, the girl who timed us. She smiled towards me.

"Great job Demyx. It was such an interesting lap I almost forgot to check the watch." A laugh escaped from her and it sounded like bells chiming in the wind. My smile actually felt real.

"Thanks. It was fun; a friendly race is always great." She nodded.

"Yeah, it's awesome to just let everything go and just focus on the race, without having to worry about medals and time and stuff." I was just about the answer when the stupid speakers started tingling, announcing that out dear headmaster had something on that little mind of his. Both me and Ariel, and everyone else in the swim hall for that matter, raised our heads towards the speakers. That's pretty funny actually; you raise your head towards the speakers, as if to look at the person who's talking even though there's no one there.

"_This is Principal Xemnas speaking. I want every junior and senior student in the auditorium at the beginning of second period. Back to class._" Ariel and I looked at each other, confusion in our eyes. What was he now plotting in that little sick mind of his?

**xXx**

On my way out of the gymnasium I ran in to Zexion who was walking calmly towards the cultural C building. Just because I could, I snuck up behind him and covered his eyes with my hands. A smile once again tugged at the corners of my lips and I had to work hard not to laugh when he froze, taken aback before he quickly regained his composure.

"Why hello to you too, Demyx." I can't describe my disappointment with the fact the he directly knew it was me. I withdrew my hands and looked at him with a fake pout, which I failed miserably as I softly laughed. "How did you know it was me?" I asked. He smiled and started walking again, me following his steps.

"You're the only one I know that still does that." Came the slate haired boy's amused reply. I stopped in my tracks, thinking over this a few seconds before I caught up with my friend again. A cheery melody came from my messenger bag and we stopped while I searched through my bag. Finally I was able to fish up my cell and answer it.

"Demyx." From the other line came Axel's voice.

"'sup bitch, where are you?" I couldn't help but laugh at Axel's way of answering the phone. Presentation much?

"hah, I'm with Zexion, we're on our way towards C house." I heard Zexion's phone go off and he walked away and took the call. Axel's voice brought me back.

"Kay, stay there, we're on our way."

"Okay…Wait, we?" Axel snickered at the other side of the line.

"Yeah, you know; me and my rabid fan girls. No, but seriously, I found Roxas on the way to school and then came Sora and Pence out of nowhere." I shook my head; typical Axel to show off and make everything a joke.

"Anyway, you guys coming?"

"Yeah, meet at the fountain in five." I flipped my phone shut only seconds before Zexion did the same.

"We're gonna meet Axel and company in five minutes at the fountain."

"Sounds good, since we're gonna meet Fuu there too." We nodded towards each other and started walking to the fountain. A thought hit me while we waited.

"How come you knew about this meeting, weren't you home?" I knew he had had a sleep in too since his class for the morning was cancelled and he shrugged.

"Fuu was in the library, studying for the history project, heard the message and called me. I called the rest of the gang and informed them since I figured they'd all be home, sleeping." He hadn't called me. Why didn't he call me? As if he heard my thoughts he squirted some water on me from the fountain and chuckled.

"The reason I didn't call you was the fact that I figured you already were here in the swim hall." A nervous laugh came from me and I scratched my neck.

"Busted eh? You know me too well Zexy." Zexion made a face at the nickname as we saw Fuu come along the road and Zexion waved towards her. She raised her hand and I saw Reno's black car drive past us, probably ten mph over the speed limit. Fuu sat down next Zexion and I saw how Axel and company came walking from the parking lot.

"How come you drive Axel? I thought Reno didn't let you near the car?" Axel fired off his Mr. Player smile.

"Well, since someone called me a little late and I was sleeping, I asked Reno to borrow the car since he had the day off anyway. Then I just found these guys on the street." With a laugh he nodded towards Roxas, Sora and Pence who came walking behind him. Roxas didn't look too pleased with this statement.

"Axel… You make us sounds like street hookers."

"Why ROXAS, that was my intention." To my great amusement Roxas looked like he was gonna blow up and everyone laughed. Together we walked to the culture hall. As soon as Axel flung the door opened, he looked around and screamed.

"'Sup bitches! Axel's in the house!" It's hard not to laugh when you're around Axel. Everyone in the whole hall laughed and Axel continued.

"Everyone can calm down, we're back!" The laughs slowly calmed and we seated us in a nearby staircase. I leaned against the wall, Axel above me, Roxas opposite of him, Zexion under Roxas, Fuu under him. Sora and Pence was on the step below me and we knew that many of the eyes in the hall were trained on us. It was sort of a nice feeling, at the same time as I hated it. Why did they have to stare at us? I can take everyone's eyes on me while I'm on stage, but when it's like this it only makes me feel uncomfortable.

Finally we all were let in to the huge auditorium and principal Mansex came out on stage. He started talking about this new thing we were gonna do in the following to weeks, and Axel being Axel, just couldn't keep his mouth shut. He started screaming and we all laughed. I admit; it was fun but he was so gonna get in trouble for it later. I tugged at his sleeve and tried to hold back my laughter.

"Come on Axel, drop it and sit down." As always he didn't listen to me when I asked him to calm down. I saw Zexion clench his fists at Axel continued. He hated when we go in to trouble because it was always him that had to help us get out of it. The whole theatre cheered and gave catcalls, giving fuel to Axel's fire, making him go on even more. I really wished he would stop and just as I was gonna stop him, Zexion raised, looking furious and pushed Axel back into his seat.

"Sit down and shut the hell up before you make an even bigger fool of yourself stupid." The furious slate haired boy whispered to the surprised redhead. Xemnas continued with his little speech and Axel just sat there, looking thunder struck.

When we were let out of the theatre we walked towards the cafeteria, there was a chilly silence around Zexion. Axel felt it, and we all knew it was his fault. This was what happened when you pissed Zexion off, at first he gave you the cold shoulder until you annoyed him even further and he blew and that was rarely pretty. Zexion's usually calm and quiet, but he could have one nasty temper when we acted like fools. Right now, we were just waiting for the bomb to drop.

"Guys, I need to talk to Axel in private… Do you mind?" I quickly understood.

"Come on guys, let's go and grab something to eat." Fuu stayed behind with Zexion, but we all knew she wouldn't interfere, she would just stay there as a silent moral support. Axel gave me a begging look, but he was on his own on this one. I had tried to make him shut up, but he just wouldn't listen to me and therefore pulled out the wrath of Zexion. We walked away swiftly and left the combatants to themselves.

**xXx**

I skimmed through the menu for something worth eating since I'm starting to give up on the fries. Axel won't let me keep them to myself anyway. With a sigh I decided to go for them anyway, in the lack of something else that seemed edible. I got a little left behind since Sora and Roxas got done before me, and I saw a red shadow rush past me with an enormous ruckus following. Screams were heard but I figured it was just Roxas blowing up on Axel. I filled my cup with some coke and walked they way Axel had run only to see one of the preppy girls looking like someone threw a can of water on her, Roxas standing with his hand on her chest, the silver haired guy and Axel standing toe to toe, arguing. Sora looked at me when I reached them and just shook his head. The whole thing ended with Axel taking MY cup of soda and throwing it at the jock, before kneeing him and telling us that we were leaving.

Once again we were walking quickly from the scene, and I could tell Axel was furious. What I couldn't tell was if he was furious due to whatever Zexion said or if it was something that happened between him and the jock. Speaking of which; where is Zexion anyway?

We found a spot under a three and seated there. Axel lit a cigarette and I started munching on my fries.

"So… What happened back there anyway?" I dared to ask after a good ten minutes of silence. Axel just glared at me and lit another cig. Silence kept lingering until Sora finally spoke.

"Roxas tripped and spilled out his soda on that girl, making Riku flip, then Axel accidentally pushed Rox when he was handing her a napkin, making him grope that poor girl and then Axel and Riku started arguing and the rest is history." He explained and I nodded. We kept quiet and I looked away, chewing on a fry.

"Where's Zexion and what did he say?" I know; curiosity killed the cat, but I just had to know. He's my friend too and I sincerely hoped it wouldn't turn out as last time Axel and Zexion had a fight. Axel's features darkened and he looked away. My inner thoughts told me it was probably gonna end up as last time and I figured I just had to talk to Zexion later to know what happened.

The silence that laid over us was heavy and I sighed softly. Even though it was kinda annoying when Axel was like this, it felt nice also to just have some quiet time. Axel was always such a handful it was kinda hard to calm down so we sat there and enjoyed the sun, still shining brightly. I know I can be rather wild too, and rarely care about the consequences, but that's out of the point. I leaned against the tree and I think I must've fallen asleep because later on when Sora poked I woke up.

"Come on, next lesson start in ten minutes." Axel looked pleadingly at me.

"Skip it with me; it's just English anyway…" I thought this over. On one hand we were probably gonna get back our test results from last week, but that was also the only thing I was interested in. But then on the other hand we had a free period right after. After thinking this through I shook my head.

"Come on Axel… Let's just go to the stupid lesson. You don't need to get into any more trouble than you already in." Axel crossed his arms and muttered a "fine" under his breath before we rose and headed to the main building. Sora waved to us before he and Roxas walked towards the blue D building.

**xXx**

We sat through the whole English lesson, bored out of our minds, writing some stupid essay about what we knew about global warming. I saw Axel doodling on the paper and checking out the teacher every now and then, through the corner of my eye and I smiled to myself and continued with the essay. I didn't know all too much about global warming; I know the basic idea and what happens, but I'm a quick learner.

When the lesson finally was over, me and Axel left the classroom quickly and found a bench in the hallway where we sat down. The redhead next to me sat quiet and I didn't really know what to say; if he even wanted to talk to me that is. After a while the silence started to choke me and I just couldn't take it any more.

"So..?" Axel looked at me.

"So what?"

"So are you gonna tell me what happened between you and Zexion?" Axel's gaze glued itself on the opposite wall.

"No."

"Tell me Axel, you're both my friends and you can't be like this forever. Tell me and let it go."

"You know what Demyx," the redhead's green eyes were one again on me. "just shut up about things that's none your business." He rose and walked away, left me alone in the hallway. And he was the one who wanted me to skip with him. You know what? Axel can be a great friend but he can also be terrible when he's angry.

I sat there for a few minutes, students passing me on their way to the classroom, bathroom or lockers and I rose; deciding to just skip the last lesson and go home. My steps were heavy out of the school and towards my bike, which still stood chained against the three where I left it earlier this morning.

All the way home my heart felt heavy and I just wanted to just break down and cry. I hate conflicts, I just can't argue; it breaks my heart all the time. Maybe it's because I've never argued with my parents; I used to try when I was younger but it just ended with my dad going _"Why does everything have to turn in to a discussion_?" and ever since I've never tried. Even if I had a decent argument to my dad why he didn't let me be out a little longer on the evenings, he just came with that reply and it was the end of it. There was no use in trying because then he just got mad.

I reached the bridge where Zexion and I often sat and just watched the river beneath, enjoying each other's company and chitchatted and I continued on. Zexion wasn't there so I went home. I unlocked the door and walked inside. Nobody was home yet so I walked into my room, grabbed my laptop and booted it up in the living room. The soft hum from the computer lulled me and I soon fell asleep on the couch.

I don't really know for how long I slept but I woke up by my mom's soft voice.

"Hello Dem, are you sleeping?" She laughed slightly as I sat up.

"Yeah, I must've fallen asleep…" I scratched my neck awkwardly as mom tore around in the hallway.

"I want some tea… I'm gonna make some tea… You want some tea Demyx?" a laugh bubbled inside of me.

"Yeah sure, tea sounds nice." She went to the kitchen and I stretched my limbs out, which were pretty sore after I had slept, curled into a ball on the couch before I followed her. As we waited for the water to boil, we sat down, she on a small chair, me on the floor and mom extended her cigarette package towards me, I took one and lit it before she took one of her own and we sat there.

"So, how was your day Demyx?" I flinched but I don't really think she noticed.

"Oh, you know the usual… I practised a little swimming this morning and challenged a guy to a little contest, the principal announced that all seniors and juniors are gonna have some weird theme weeks about global warming. Otherwise we've had English and we got back our test results from last week and I got an A."

"Oh Demyx that's wonderful! I have no idea how you manage since I never see you with a textbook but that's awesome." She smiled towards me.

"Oh… I just focus in class and somehow it all gets stuck." The kettle announced that the water was done and as mom searched for tea I found two cups, milk and honey. Mom finally came with the teabags and I decided to go for raspberry tea and mom chose blackcurrant. The tea slowly coloured the water brown and we waited for the tea to get done we stubbed our cigarettes on a small ashtray mom kept in the kitchen before we poured in the milk and honey and left the kitchen to go sit in the living room.

Something on the computer screen caught my attention; it was a blinking messenger conversation.

Ibroughtsexyback says: **Hey Dem, I'm sorry for earlier… **

Not dishwasher safe says: _Eh, don't mention in._

Ibroughtsexyback says: **Sure youre ok?**

No, I'm not but I don't have the energy to start arguing, he said sorry, right?

Not dishwasher safe says: _Sure I'm fine. Just a little tired, lol_

Ibroughtsexyback says: **k lol**

Not dishwasher safe says:_ anyway, see you around, having a cup of tea with mom._

Ibroughtsexyback says: **and you people call me gay, lol. K, see you around.**

_Not dishwasher safe appears to be offline._

**xXx**

Just as we finished our cups of tea, dad came home.

"Hello." Both mom and I nodded our greetings.

"Hi."

"How was work?"

"Like always. Are we going to the supermarket?" Mom nodded.

"Yes. Are you coming with us Demyx?" I shook my head.

"Nah, I'm good. I have a few tings to take care of."

They left the house and I moved in to my room to play some guitar. The notes were like balm to my soul and I quickly forgot time and place. The music was all that mattered. I got lost in beautiful melodies and I slowly began humming.

"Y_ou are one of God's mistakes_

_You crying, tragic waste of skin_

_I'm well aware of how it aches_

_And you still won't let me in_

_Now I'm breaking down your door._

_To try and save your __swollen face,  
Though I don't like you anymore,  
You lying, trying waste of space..._

_Before our innocence was lost,  
You were always one of those ,  
Blessed with lucky sevens ,  
And the voice that made me cry .  
__My Oh My._

_A song to say Goodbye."_

I was torn from my song by the front door opening and my parents came back home. With a sigh I put the guitar away and placed myself in front on the laptop again.

An hour or so passed without anything special happening. I wasted it in front of the computer, mom ran around in the kitchen, preparing dinner and dad sat by his computer. When mom called to dinner I had written two song lyrics. We placed the table, I moved the laptop to the floor and we sat down. It was a nice dinner; mom hade made potato gratin, meat, béarnaise sauce and a salad. Dinner was eaten in relative silence, we watched some TV, but nothing good was on.

Dad checked the TV magazine.

"Poseidon is on later." I glanced at my mom.

"Isn't that the movie you told me not to watch?" Okay look; I'm claustrophobic, and watching a movie where people are trapped under water in tight spaces with my vivid imagination seems like a bad idea, and therefore my mom advised me not to watch it. Dad just laughed.

"We have never forbid you to watch any movie." This annoyed me so I just had to make a comeback, and also explain myself.

"No, not forbid but she advised me not to watch it since they're trapped under water in tight spaces and I have claustrophobia." Not even mom supported me in this; she was on dad's side even though I know she told me.

"I haven't said that."

"Yes you did, you advised me not to watch it." Dad snorted.

"Maybe you should quit swimming." Mom raised an eyebrow.

"Why should he do that?"

"It is under water." Something inside of me snapped.

"Thanks for dinner." I rose, took my plate and left the room before I grabbed my bag and headed out. The irony in his voice was just too much to take. I wanted to cry, scream, crash something but I know it would just catch unwanted attention, both from by passers and my parents. It hurt me, it hurts. I was always your baby boy. What happened?

My steps headed towards the small bridge where I sank down and leaned my head towards the railing. A tear fell down my cheek, but I didn't notice it until it had fallen and I dried it before I lit a cigarette. The water under me rippled softly as I took drag after drag. How could this day, that started out so well, end so weirdly? Zexion and Axel fighting, and my dad being his old ass self. Sure, I can take it when he ignores me. It hurts, yes, but it's still easier than downright irony.

"Demyx? What are you doing here?" My head snapped up at the voice behind me and my gaze was met by Zexion's blue eyes. I didn't know what to say. What did I do here?

"I ehh… I needed to just get out a little." I flashed him a smile but I'm not sure if he believed me. "What are you doing here?" He sat down next to me and I flicked away the remainder of my cigarette.

"I just happened to pass by since I was on my way home."

"Where have you been?" A small branchlet in his hair caught my attention and I removed it without thinking too much about it. He shook his head.

"Just out walking… I've been at Fuu's place a little while." I nodded. Fuu, hmm. Oh well, even if that girl didn't like me, she and Zexion were still friends.

We sat there in silence; the only sounds came from the small river and a sporadic bird every now and then. The silence was, to my big surprise, broken by Zexion.

"Did… Did Axel tell you?" His gaze was trained on the rock at the bottom of the shallow river when I glanced over at him.

"No… I asked him but he just yelled at me." I shrugged and Zexion nodded. After a while of stillness Zexion started talking again.

"I kinda just lost it at him. I was so mad I didn't know what to do with myself so I totally snapped. Look; I don't mind that you guys have fun and come up with a bunch of crazy stuff, but I _do_ mind that you take it out on the rest of us, making me have to clean up after you." I lowered my gaze.

"I am sorry Zexion."

"Ah, never mind. At the same time its fun, it's just that this time Axel crossed the line." I nodded. He sure as hell did, but he just didn't listen to us.

"But seriously Dem, sure you're okay?" I waved him off with my hand.

"Never mind, it's just my father." Zexion patted my back.

"I'm sorry."

"Nyah, never mind, it's okay. I have calmed down and when I come home everything's gonna be back to normal and I won't talk to my dad for the rest of the day. Not that it's that much left of the day and not that he will care but still." Zexion gave me a sad look but I just shrugged my shoulders.

"Eh, he never cares anyway. Should we start walking home?" Zexion nodded and rose and I did the same. After I lit another cig we walked the short, small road to our separate homes. We didn't say much, I guess we were both lost in our own thoughts.

**xXx**

When I got home, no one noticed as I had suspected. My mom greeted me but I just grabbed the laptop and walked in to my room. I signed in on messenger and checked through my online contacts list and noticed that Sora was online.

Not Dishwasher Safe says: _Hey Sor_

Dear, your name here says: Hi Dem. How are you?

Terrible.

Not dishwasher safe says: _Eh, I'm fine. Like always. You?_

Dear, your name here says: yeah, I'm fine too.

The conversation kinda died after that. Maybe none of us were feeling that social. I decided to call it an early night and sleep so I went in to the bathroom, grabbed my toothbrush and walked back to my room while brushing my teeth. Bored out of my mind I started at the computer screen as I brushed up, and brushed down, behind and front. Yeah, I've never found it that exciting to brush my teeth. I hummed to myself and slowly rocked from side to side before I ran to the bathroom to spit.

Back in my room I stripped down to my boxers, turned the laptop off, turned off the lights and cuddled in to a ball under my cover. The last thing that left my mind was that Zexion had pretty nice eyes. I like blue.


	9. Chapter 8 The Kill

Alright, this is actually a new chapter, but I've had it half done on my comp for like.. a really really long time now. After this chapter, there will be some time before the next chapter comes up, because I need to start that chapter from scratch. But yes. Enjoy~

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kingdom hearts or any of the characters used. They belong to Disney and Squeenix. Furthermore I do not own the song the kill by 30 seconds to mars.

Sorry if this chap is a bit confusing.. it's hard to rewrite an old roleplay into a chapter and make it make sense.

* * *

**Starlight High**

**Chapter 8 The Kill**

Demyx's Point of view:

I woke up from the alarm clock playing an awfully upbeat song. Too upbeat for this time in the morning. With a groan I rolled over, took the alarm clock, and threw it into the floor before slowly, oh so slowly, gave myself up to the chilliness of the room.

"Uuughh…" I walked like a zombie towards the bathroom for a nice, waaaaarm shower.

The warm water rinsed over me and it certainly helped to improve both my mood and my state of consciousness. I cleaned my hair, rinsed it, and then turned the shower off before I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked out of the bathroom to wake mom up. When she was awake, I returned to my room to find some decent clothes. I pulled on a pair of boxers and then danced around a little while I browsed through my closet to find clothes.

I decided on a pair of dark jeans that I'd worn yesterday, before I found a clean, simple white tee and a black hoodie with a zipper all the way down. I went to get some breakfast and found some toast. A tune went through my head as I slowly munched on it. Afterwards, I headed into the bathroom, gelled my hair into perfection and then started brushing my teeth. Since I'm a wanderer, I walked around half the house while doing so, slowly humming. Mom smiled at me and I gave her a toothpasty smile back before I went into my room and started some quiet music that I danced around to, while still brushing my teeth.

I briefly checked through my emails since I had some time and was bored as hell. Nothing worth mentioning though…spam, spam, spam, chain letter….spam, spam, oh hey, a newsletter…spam, spam…eh, fuck it. I turned off the computer and went out onto the patio. It was a rather nice morning. It looked like it was going turn out to be a beautiful, warm day. A refreshing breeze ruffled my shirt as I went back in again. I yawned before I grabbed my bag, went outside, grabbed my bike, and started going towards school. Zexion sent me a text message yesterday saying he was sleeping in, so he wouldn't be joining me. I plugged in my headphones to my iPod and spun the click wheel, finding a nice song and set off. It was like any other morning, nothing out of the ordinary.

And I was fucking sick of it. The same thing, every day, over and over.

I softly sang along to the song from my headphones, parked my bike by a tree, the same tree as I always do, and always done, for the last three years that I've attended Starlight High, sitting down by the fountain to wait for Axel.

"'Sup my bitch?"

And there he was. Speak of the devil… I pulled my headphones off.

"Not much really…tired as hell, but I'm starting to wake up. I could kill for a coffee, but yeah…how are you? You're kinda pale and look like you've seen a ghost."

Grinning, he sat next to me and opened the bag he'd brought. "I've got something better than coffee…want a ginger thin?" he held out the packaged to me. "Oh, and I've got a cig, and, kick ass guy that I am, I've decided to share with you."

I stared at the box. What the hell is ginger thins? "A cig does indeed sound nice…gonna go and buy a package during lunch, but that'll be a later problem." I placed my headphones around my neck and yawned again. Hell, what is it with me and early morning…we do not mix well.

"You look like shit," he pointed out, pulling out a cigarette and handing it to me. "And ginger thins are…like…cookies…yeah…dunno what the fuck they really are…but they're good and I skipped breakfast on account of Reno's…um…thing…I don't even know what to call it." He shook his head, eyes getting a faraway look.

"Wow, gee, thanks Ax, nice to know I have supporting friends." I flipped a Zippo from my pocket and lit the poor sucker on fire. Sometimes I wondered why I still smoked, other times; I wouldn't quit to save my own life.

"Knowing Reno…do I wanna know what this breakfast thing is about?" I took a….cookie or whatever, from the box and sniffed it.

Axel laughed nervously, trying to light his last cig. "Erm…he said he found it in the fridge somewhere…might've been milk or something…though it smelled like lunch meat…" He plucked a ginger thin out of the box and slid the whole cookie into his mouth. Yuck. "It's not gonna bite you, Dem." he muttered, mouth full.

I fell off the fountain, sprawled over the ground, laughing my ass off. Forgetting everything concerning burning cigarettes and ginger thins. "DUDE!" I rolled over to lay flat on my back, staring up at the redhead-still laughing, mind you- "That is fucking EPIC!" I continued laughing, even though it was wearing off. But I still just laid there before slowly taking a drag from the cig. "Thanks for making my morning." I laughed again.

Shrugging, he seemed unable to keep from grinning at me. "Welcome?" he took a drag and another ginger thin. "And you wouldn't think so if you'd been there…"

I sat up before flicking away the bud and took a bite from the cookie. "What is our…hey these are good…what's our first lesson today?" I stretched out before I rose and sat down beside Axel again.

"Like I care?" the redhead stuffed another cookie in his mouth "Um…I dunno…my brain don't function this early." he took a final drag before flicking the remains of the cigarette away with a sigh." It will forever haunt me…" He whispered to himself.

I completely misunderstood the situation, since I'm not a mind reader, thank you very much, so I patted Axel's back. "There there, it's okay…but I still wanna know what lesson we have, so I'll know if I should skip it or not."

"I wrote the schedule down somewhere…could possibly be in these pants…you can look if you want." Axel continued to ponder something as he ate his interesting breakfast. "I think Zexion's come out of the closet." he said bluntly.

"I don't wanna look in your…wait what?" hang on, rewind, what?

"Zexion WAS in the closet to begin with?"

Axel jumped up in indignation. "Oh, so my pants aren't good enough to root through?" He blinked, pausing, "What…?" I just stared at him. "Demyx…what…I'm totally confused now." I shook my head. God, I hate mornings.

"Yeah, yeah, your pants are hot, but rewind. Zexion coming out of the closet." Gyah…mornings. Who likes them? A rather catchy song started playing from my headphones and I hummed along. "

She clings to me like cellophane, fake plastic submarine, she's driving me insane, but now that's over. Why, why you always kick me when I'm high."

The redhead popped me upside the head, gently mind you, he wasn't trying to be an ass, just trying to get our minds back on track…and no, that doesn't mean he hit himself…just other people…

"Well, I think he did…he cornered me in the kitchen and asked if I was gay, just out of the blue." he snorted. "We all know the answer to that. Then he asked how I found out."

"Aww… Hm…well…there's nothing wrong with it…and eh…well…it was kind of a shock though." I laughed. "Gimme another cookie thing."

Pouting, Axel held the box to his chest. "I…but…noooo," he whined petulantly. "My cookies…and you wanna talk about shock; you weren't the one he was asking! Which I thought totally weird…I mean, sure, he's a pal, but he hangs around you more than me."

I grabbed a cookie anyways before wiggling my eyebrows suggestively. "Well…maybe I'm not as flamboyant as you are, my dear Axel." I grinned, threw the cookie in my mouth, got up, and started running towards the school. Didn't want to be there when it finally hit him, what I said

Axel was still dumbfounded over the stolen cookie. I was already a fair distance away when it finally sank in what I said and he jumped up to his feet to give chase. "HEY! You bitch!"

I just laughed and ran. No way am I gonna slow down, not with an Axel who had his manliness crushed by none other than yours truly. So, therefore, I ran.

"You know I'm right!"

I was fast, but sadly the redhead had longer legs. Axel tackled me to the ground from behind, driving us both into the grass. "Take it back!" he shouted, wrapping an arm around my neck and mussing up my hair. It was the only thing he knew could get me back.

"Oof!" I'm tasting the dirt, I swear. Oh fuck it, I'm the swimmer, he's the lanky. "No way, girly boy. Nice hips by the way!" I tried holding his hands. "And leave my hair the fuck alone!"

"Compliments will get you nowhere!" Axel shouted, trying to keep me from grabbing his hands. "And you stole my cookie, so NEVER!" he rumpled my hair some more before deciding it was satisfactorily limp. "Ha…"

I rose and dusted myself off before I did what could be done with my poor hair. "You OFFERED me the damn cookie." I sighed. "Oh well…gotten rid of your sexual frustrations on poor little me now? Maybe you can finally start acting normal."

"EXCUSE me? Sexual frustrations my ass!" the redhead glared at me for a moment. "And there's no such thing as normal. I know nothing of normal." he grinned "Want a cookie?" he asked, holding the box out again.

I raised an eyebrow. "No, I'm fine. But we all notice you're so sexually frustrated that it's painful to watch. Just because you can't get Blondie to pin you to the floor." I backed away from the cookie box. Didn't want to get my hair ruined again…

Axel frowned at that. "Is it really that obvious? And I was trying SO hard to hide it." The statement was full of sarcasm. He glanced down at the cookies. "Do you think Roxy likes ginger?"

I just grinned at him, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up," he finished lamely with a pout.

I cracked up again. "Axel…I love you, you know that, but you suck dude!" I laughed again. "And yes, we all notice how you're trying to get into Blondie's pants." I kept laughing and took another cookie just to annoy him.

"Crap.. but… If Zex really is gay… How do you think Fuu will react? I mean, she doesn't like ANYBODY around him. I can only imagine if he found someone."

"Fuu.. I don't know.. but she would be scary as hell… Who do you think he's gay for?" Shrugging Axel flicked the box, watching it teeter.

"I don't know. I mean, he wasn't opening his soul to me, just asking those two questions. Then you showed up and he left…" Axel looked like he got a revelation, but then it just ended up as a sneeze.

"Huh…bless you…when did this happen?" I stared off at the sky, slowly spacing out. I checked my watch. "Well, would you look at that…we've missed half of our first period."

"I don't know…yesterday? The day before? Somewhere around there…no, I know it was yesterday, because that was when Roxas was wearing that cute sweater that barely fit him!"

Well…so much for coming across as a non-Blondie stalker…

I raised an eyebrow. "No Axel…you're not at all totally infatuated with Roxas…yesterday huh? Wonder what's gotten into him. He skips and then comes out of the closet?"

"Stop bringing up my 'infatuation'. And how should I know what's going on in Zexion's head? Maybe he's gotten over teenage insecurities and his true personality is finally coming out...good thing too...no offence since he's a good buddy of yours...but he's dull."

I was thinking over everything and didn't really listen, my gaze trained on some gum that was stuck to the concrete

"But you know, it's not a big deal what I think, not like my opinion matters...I'll just go talk to the wall..." I rolled my eyes and his over-dramatics.

"Yeah, that's good…"

Yes, I was totally spacing out. Zexion? Gay? Naah… I'd have to see it to believe it.

Suddenly struck with an idea, Axel snapped his fingers. "I got it. We'll test him. See if he's really come out or if he was just genuinely curious...for some unexplained reason!"

I looked up finally. "Sorry, you were saying?" I grinned sheepishly at his glare.

"I hate you sometimes...We. Will. Test. Him." He tapped me on the forehead. "Got it memorized?"

"... test who and why? Sorry, I was thinking about other things..." I laughed slightly and scratched my neck.

"What the hell 'other things' could be more important than finding out, once and for all, the sexuality of Zexion?"

".. The sexuality of Zexion?" I laughed again. "Because that was what I was thinking about. But yes…I wanna know."

Axel blinked blankly at me. "Oh...well why didn't you just say that was what you were thinking about?" He laughed as well. "We'll do it at lunch. How do you think we should test him? Shove gay porn in his face? One or both of us hitting on him...although, that might not work very well...even if he IS gay, we're still his friends..." The redhead began to stroke his chin, looking devious.

_That would actually look menacing if he had a beard,_ I thought absently.

"Hitting on him sounds awesomely fun! Imagine the look on Fuu's face! But how do we know he is gay if we hit on him?"

"Look for the signs...blushing, stuttering, fidgeting, and even possible returned flirting." Axel listed each off on his fingers. "Trust me on this, even if you don't see it, I'll know."

I nodded. This was going to be soooo much fun. A grin snuck onto my face just at the thought of what would happen come lunch time.

_-Lunch-_

"How does everyone manage to get to our table before us?" Axel asked as we caught sight of the entire gang, sans me and him, already sitting at the table and eating lunch.

I stepped up behind Axel, tray in hand and sighed. "Because we're seniors and therefore, get lunch last? Come on, they're waiting for us," I walked up to our friends and sat down. "Hey guys!"

"As seniors, we should get it first," Axel bitched before sitting. Normally, he'd sit near Roxas, but today, we had a mission. So he sat next to Zexion instead. "'Sup peeps?"

I had placed myself on the other side of Zexion and waved a hand around before I started to munch at my food, watching him while Axel got settled.

I saw Axel purposefully shift so his leg brushed against Zexion's under the table, and I took it as a cue to start the fun.

"So…heard you skipped yesterday."

I smiled to myself. "Hey Ax, just gonna steal a fry," I leaned over Zexion's place to take a fry at the same time as I made sure my chest made contact with his arm, my face near his. I smiled towards him before I got back in my seat and munched on the fry happily.

"Yeah Zexy, skipping is not good for you."

Though I had just made possibly the greatest tease move of all time, Axel still wasn't happy that I'd stolen his food, though he went along and laughed quietly, leaning his shoulder into Zexion's, sliding a fry into his mouth slowly. "Mm...Yeah, makes you a bad boy..."

I slid a finger down Zexion's now red cheek. "Yes…and do you KNOW what happens to bad boys Zexion..?" I whispered his name in his ear.

Time to pull out the big guns. Though Zexion had long ago gone stiff between the two of us, his face beet red, he had yet to utter a word. Stroking the other teen's thigh under the table, Axel leaned closer.

"Bad boy's get punished, Zexion..."

I put my hand on his other thigh and leaned closer as well. "Believe me Zexy… That kind of punishment is not fun…" I whispered every word in his ear. When he looked over at me, I gave him a seductive smile and went back to munch food, orally molesting the poor unsuspecting burger… Poor sucker. He never saw it coming.

Zexion was stubborn. I didn't think it would take this long to get him to crack...if he were gay, he would have responded by now. If he weren't, he would've killed us both. I just didn't get it. Axel removed his hand too, and resumed eating, taking a more subtle approach like me. The others were gaping at us, and we didn't want any of them getting suspicious...

I picked up my phone and sent a quick text to Axel that said, _'What do we do? He's as stubborn as a friggin donkey'_ before I slid it down again and sighed deeply.

Axel involuntarily jumped as his phone vibrated. Damn, I could hear it from here. I watched him pull it out and glance down at the screen. I quickly read the reply he sent a few moments later.

_'I don't know. I didn't think it would be this hard__.'_

Zexion just kept pensively staring at the table between us.

'me neither... what should we do?' I ate my food in silence while pondering. Axel sighed on the other side of Zexion as he chewed before writing a new reply.

'_one of us have to pull out the big guns.' _ I furrowed my brows.

'_big guns?'_ I rose and walked to go and get more soda..

'_someone have to kiss him. Doesn't have to be on the mouth. But it's all I can think of.' _I could only stare at the screen.

'_get over here you ass' _Axel jumped and walked up to the blond.

"Don't call me an ass, stupid." I turned to glare at him.

"Let me go. Kiss him? Are you fucking serious Axel?" my voice was just a hiss, laced with anger. Axel sighed and did as he was asked, crossing his arms over his chest instead.

"Yes, I'm serious. Even just faking going in for one. If touching him and sexy whispers won't crack him, we'll have to get hardcore on him."

"but what if you were wrong, Axel? How would you feel if a girl did all those things to you?"

"I'd feel sexy and wanted...even though I like guys." He answered, but something told me that he understood the point. "I could've been wrong...I have been before...but I just get this feeling that he's messing with us!"

"Why do you get that feeling? It is totally explainable that's he gets stiff and blush like a fucking beet! He's fucking shy, may not even be gay and then two of his best friends start to totally touch him up and molest him. He's not you Axel." I sighed

"...point taken... now what? Not like we can just go up to him and say, 'oh, sorry about that, we thought you were gay'."

"Not we. But yes, you will" I shoved my index finger into his chest "You'll apologize for the inconvenience and then things will be all right again" I started to walk against the table again.

"WHY DO I HAVE TO DO IT!" Axel screamed after me but I only ignored him, taking my place at the table again and went back to my food. After a while, Axel came shuffling back and sank down, staring at the remains of his food. I continued to ignore him, talking a bit to Roxas.

Axel gritted his teeth. Not only did the blond dump everything on him, he started to steal Roxas' attention from him? He was going to kill that stupid blond. He didn't care that Demyx was the one who opened his eyes, nor that he'd had the biggest crush on him and still kinda did. That blond was dying. Tonight. With a sigh Axel leaned his head towards Zexion's shoulder. "Sorry." He muttered before leaning back to his seat again.

I rose and stretched.

"no, I'm gonna go and buy myself some cancer sticks. Later." I gave Axel a glance to tell him that I still was watching him before leaving.

**xXx**

When I came back into the cafeteria, Zexion ran past me. I tried to catch him but he ignored me and went out. Squinting my eyes after him I turned and walked up to the table.

"Axel, dear, can I talk to you over a cigarette?" Axel flinched and slowly looked up.

"Uh.. would you believe me if I said I quit smoking like… 2 seconds ago?"

"… No. Come on now." I grabbed his arm and pulled him with me outside to the school yard where I turned to him. Axel only stared up at the sky.

"So.. uh… what's up? I did apologize to him."

"Then why was he storming out the freaking building, refusing to talk to me when I was gonna ask!" I grabbed his precious red locks

"do tell me Zexi.. I mean Axel" luckily enough he was too scared I was going to tear his hair out, he didn't notice the slip of my tongue.

"AH! PLEASE DON'T TEAR THEM OUT!" He sniffed. "I apologized, I swear! And he got all mad and stormed off. I told him I was sorry!" When I just glared at him, his eyes went wide.

"Dude… No.. no way!"

"I will tear them out if that's what it needs for you to tell me what you really did!" I glared at him, my face close to his. "No way what?" I was so mad even I didn't notice my slip. His hands came up to cover mine where they were ready to rip his precious hair out of his head.

"I said I was sorry, then I asked what he thought of us putting on that show for him...I was trying to soften any offense!" I let go of his hair and crashed my fist into a nearby wall.

"Great Axel, just great" I sighed deeply. Axel rubbed his head.

"What is your problem? He'll get over it…" I ignored him; standing leaned against the wall, not saying anything more.

"You… you like him… don't you?" His words shocked me, made me freeze. Then I unfrozed and turned around, staring at my best friend.

"Wait, come again? Sure; I like him. He's a good friend." When he backed me against the wall, placing a hand on each side of my head, I got slightly uncertain.

"Riiiiight, he's a good friend… but that's not what I mean, Demyx. Don't play dumb.

"um Axel.. No I don't like him that way." I don't, do I?

"Uh-huh...then why did you just almost call me 'Zexion' when you were bein' all rough, eh?"

I was quiet for a few seconds before I sank down along the wall.

"oh dear... I do like him, don't I?" when I thought about it I realized that I might just actually like him. Axel smirked down at me from where he stood.

"Yeah...seems that way...HA! now you can't make fun of me liking Roxas!"I blinked dumbstruck a few seconds. This was too much. This couldn't be right.. I didn't even listen to Axel.I couldn't like him? Zexion was one of my best friends, and I'm… well… I am gay but... it's Zexion... this was too much for me to digest. Axel crouched down in front of me with a sigh.

"Guess I could've been nicer about all this. But hey, at least you aren't deluding yourself anymore! And hooray, there's a slight possibility Zexion's gay too!"

"it's easier to delude myself... it hurts less that way.." I gave him a painful smile. "and y-you don't understand… there's... gah, even I don't understand... and I think we made it clear he's not gay.." Axel kissed my forehead.

"Aww, sorry kido, but life in general hurts...and we can't entirely give up, I mean, he was awfully quiet and zoning out when I talked about the 'show'. That's gotta mean something, right?" Axel said and I smiled towards my friend.

"I dunno… I'm gonna pretend like nothing until I know something." I gripped him and gave him a hug, clinged to him.

"And thanks Axel" He hugged me back with a small smile.

"Eh, we'll figure it out, one way or another...and you're welcome...I guess...erm...what are you thanking me for again?" He pulled back to raise an eyebrow. I laughed and turned away and rubbed my eyes before I looked back

"and you people call me dense" I gave him a cigarette "it's on me" I smiled. He took the cigarette with a grin.

"Hey thanks. And no, this doesn't forgive you calling me dense...but I'll forgive you anyways. You're too cute not to forgive." He ruffled my hair, knowing how much it got on my nerves when he did. I laughed and caught a spike of his hair and pulled it slightly.

"We always do something to each other so we always get even"

"True enough." He batted my hand away. "And leave the hair alone. It's had enough abuse."

"The same goes to you handsome" With a grin towards him, I leaned against the wall, stretched my limbs in the sun and took a drag from the cig. Axel lit up his own and took a drag.

"Why did we never end up going out, Dem? People keep telling me that we're cute together." He was just curious. Sure, his feelings for Demyx were double-sided, but he doubted he'd ever been more than his friend. Especially with Roxas around.

"Wow...no clue where that thought came from." He laughed and took another drag.

"I have no idea actually… I've been thinking but I can't really remember..." I smiled towards him

"Oh well...at least we're best friends, right?" He gave me a one-armed hug. "And as such, I promise we'll find a way around the Zexion problem. If he's gay, it's a go. If not... we'll find you someone else." I chuckled.

"yeah.." I leaned my head against his shoulder and exhaled slowly while staring at the sky.

"I wonder what everyone must be thinking... first, we totally snog Zexion at the table, and then we sneak off, I come back alone and then he storms off...and that oh so dramatic exit..." He absently stuck his nose in my hair and inhaled.

I laughed and took a deep drag before I exhaled.

"And if someone would see us now they'd think we're whores" This felt nice... I had missed Axel... sure we always see each other but it was a long time since we had one of these close friends moments... I thought back and tried to figure out why we never really became a couple… His words had stirred up the thoughts inside of me.

"Yeah...but who cares what they think right?" He chuckled and purposefully leaned closer when a couple of students wandered a little too close.

"you got a point there" I glared at the by passers. Axel had a special scent about him that made me feel comfortable... maybe 'cause it had always been there, or at least as long as it had mattered. It smelled warm and spicy. Homey.

It felt strange, that was all Axel could say about how he felt. This moment was...strange. Not in a bad way...but he guessed it was because it had been so long since the two of them just...held each other. That may sound wrong, but really, when he thought about it, they just greeted with words. Old familiarity. Yay for awkward moments in which old feelings stir.

I sighed. I guess the saying was right 'old love never rusts'

"it's gonna be a long day" I just had to change the subject. This was getting too awkward. Which was weird.

Glad that he'd changed the subject, the redhead quickly agreed, pulling away.

"Yeah. I feel bad now about what we did to Zexion." Maybe it was purposefully done to remind them both that Demyx liked him. Axel wasn't sure. But it was a great distraction.

I kind of missed the warmth from his body but I shrugged. It was getting awkward. This was getting too close. When we hadn't been this close in a very long time, and his talk about us never getting together… I needed something to distract myself with.

"Yeah... me too... but hopefully he'll get over it…"

"I'm sure he will." Why did the side that had been pressed against Demyx tingle? Axel mused and tried to think of a different topic.

"Think we should head back inside and see if he's come back?"

I nodded quickly. Yeah… no more being alone. God only knew where this could lead and not with Axel... I didn't want to lose him as a friend.

"hopefully... or we'll find the others"

"Yeah...oh man, I guess we have to explain to them too..." That... Axel didn't look forward to. Especially Roxas. How could he look at him after what just happened? Sure, Axel thought; he was probably the only one freaking and reacting to old feelings, but still. "Crap."

"I don't wanna explain it to them either but we have too..." I shoved my hands deep in my pockets and pulled my shoulders up, keeping a distance from my friend. "What's crap?"

"Nothing!" Came the redhead's response a little too quickly.. Great...now we were walking further from each other...ugh. "Let's just go get it over with, okay? I'd rather not draw this out."

".. I don't belive you.. Tell me Axel, I know you too well to know when you're lying and right now you're lying straight into my face" I stopped walking, waiting for an answer

Why does he have to have random moments of complete lucidness when it was inconvenient for me? Axel thought to himself.

"I'm just...feeling awkward...about what happened back there." He waved vaguely towards where we'd been sitting. "That's all. Now let's go." I blushed, I just know it.

"well.. then we're two about it.." I focused my gaze on the asphalt and started walking slowly after him

For some reason, when they got back into the cafeteria, Axel felt like everyone was staring. Everytime someone glanced up at them, Axel wondered if it was obvious on his face that he was crushing hard on Demyx... all over again. Demyx had been right earlier... He wasn't the best liar when it came to people who knew him...and they were about to sit back down with their friends.

I couldn't focus on anything... Sora was talking to me at random occasions, but I don't really know what he said.

I found a notebook in my bag and started doodling, while I pulled up my headphones from around my neck. I couldn't stand this, and needed some own time.

Axel drummed his fingers on the table, somewhat jealous that Demyx seemed so settled and normal. It wasn't fair. He cleared his throat and tried to involve himself in conversation. Good distraction, right? "Nice shirt, Roxas." Roxas gave him an odd look before returning to his chat with the two brunets. No reply. Great. "I'm in so much shit." He grumbled, running his hands through his hair.

The song in my headphones was just over and I heard Axel's statement and glanced over at him.

Axel noticed that Demyx was looked at him and made an effort to look normal. Unfortunately, biting your thumb nail while purposefully avoiding someone's stare is far from normal.

I found my phone and sent Axel a new text.

_'eh, cheer up.. it's okay'_

_'easier said than done. I feel like I've blown our friendship.'_

_'why?_' I returned to my doodle before my gaze fell through the window

_'i don't know. doesn't it feel awkward now?_'

I bit my lip

_'well.. yea it does... but it'll pass.._' hopefully... I hummed along with the song from my headphones.

_'hope you're right.'_ Axel sighed and stared at the floor. For some reason, he wasn't bothered by what people must think, seeing him, Axel, the forever cocky, arrogant, overly-confident...slumped over and silent. I felt bad for him. I pulled my headphones off and rose.

"Axel come..." I started to walk away from the table. Axel followed without complaint...or even a sick remark on the 'come' command. Wow, he was really out of it. With a deep breath I turned to him.

"Axel.. it is alright.."

"No! It's not! It's not alright! I feel so weird now, and that's bad! How can we keep being close friends like this?" I stepped forward and hugged him in silence.

"shhh…" His arms remained limp at his sides, but he leaned his forehead on my shoulder. Hooray for over-reactions. But maybe it wasn't an over-reaction. After all; I did note how he stopped breathing in that split second when I first wrapped my arms around him.

"Ugh..." I gently stroked his back and remained silent.

"Say something...please..."

"what do you want me to say?"

"Anything, nothing...tell me it's alright again. Maybe it'll work this time." His hands hesitantly rose and rested on the my waist.

"It is alright Axel. it really is. Nothing has changed… we're still best friends. I still love you as I've always done" I hugged him closer

"Okay..." And it did make him feel better. Just knowing their friendship wasn't over because he was a dork made him feel infinitely better.

"I feel like a total retard..." I chuckled

"it's alright. . don't. You're still my airhead Axel. But no one can call you that except me... not even you.. grr"

"easy tiger, I get it." Axel lifted his head.

"Pet names now, huh? You sure we aren't goin' out?"

"if you wanna call airhead a pet name then sure" I let go of him, the scent lingered still. The smiled stayed on my lips.

"you smell really nice you know.." Axel straightened and tried to ignore that small disappointed part of him that missed the hug. Demyx's words surprised him and he blinked silently at him for a moment.

"You...like the way I smell?"

I nodded. "yeah... you smell... warm... and spicy... you smell safe" I kicked my converseclad toes against the stone floor. No way Axel was blushing... "Um...thanks..."

I looked up under bangs

"soo.. everything's good again?"

"Yeah..." He nodded and smiled at me.

"Let's head back then" I started walking back. For some reason, Axel grabbed my hand with but let go the instant our skin touched. "Okay..." He finally said and took up a spot next to me as we walked.

"There are going to be some serious questions by the time today is over." I looked at him in question.

"yup.. definitely" I laughed "we've surely acted weird today… it's been a weird day"

"Yup, it really has… and I totally blame Reno's discovery in the fridge. Something THAT strange has to have the ability to make everything around it odd." He grinned. "If they start getting too into their questioning, just say something random and sexist...that's what I do." I laughed

"I almost forgot about that" I slung an arm around his shoulders

"Axel.. you ARE a sexist... and that's why we love you" I grinned. Axel wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Aw, I love you too, Demyx." For some reason Axel glanced up at saw Zexion stand nearby, just staring, eyes glossed over. If pensive way he was staring at them was any indication, Zexion was still mad at them.

"uh… Hey there Zexion… I'm sorry, again." Axel squeezed my hip before he withdrew his hand, hoping that I would get the cue to go and talk to the boy with the icy lavender hair.

I froze when I heard Axel use Zexion's name and spun around quickly.

"Uh.. Hi Zexy" Zexion seemed to snap out of his daze and he suddenly seemed angry… or… hurt?

"What?" He snapped and I didn't really know what to say. I was too shocked; this just came in the wrong order

"Oookay, he's still mad. Look, we're sorry, alright? Well...I'm sorry, it was my idea after all..." Axel muttered.

"Shut up!" Zexion shouted. Everyone went quiet and began to stare, but all Zxion did was stand there and glare at us"Just shut up, Axel!"

"Zexion.. what is it? Are you alright?" I tilted my head to the side.

"What do you mean, 'what is it?'" He stopped himself there. Demyx had no clue what he was feeling. That he was struggling with both his sudden possible change in sexuality and growing feelings for his friend. Zexion rubbed his forehead tiredly. "It's nothing...I guess I didn't get enough sleep." 'great excuse' He thought bitterly to himself.

I stepped towards his cautiously.

"Did something happen? Do I need to beat someone?" Yes, I try to make a joke out of everything, but it makes it easier to cope that way

Zexion managed to smile faintly. "Nothing's happened. It's fine. Sorry for blowing up like that."

I tilted my head to the sure "For Sure?"

Noting that things had simmered down, Axel felt it safe to speak up. "Like, fer sure maybe?" I snickered at the reference. Zexion nodded, pausing to glare at one particularly annoying redhead "Yeah, for sure."

"alright then..." I turned to Axel

"Fer sure maybe"

"Fer sure not."

"Fer sure eh"

"Fer sure bomb"

"Pulled up at a stoplight, did drugs on the dashboard, look at the mess we made tonight"

"Kick off your stilettos, kick off your stilettos, and fuck me in the backseat, fuck me in the backseat" I snickered while Axel just about fell over laughing. With a grin I tried to keep Axel standing "easy there"

"Okay, let's try and get things straight, because I feel better and don't want any more crap to have to deal with later." Axel turned to Zexion. "You made me suspicious with your questions yesterday, so Dem and I tested you. We apparently failed. Welcome back to the fold!" He held his arms open to the stunned teen who just stared.

I looked at Zexion with an embarrassed smile.

"sorry"

Zexion crossed his arms. "You are forgiven...YOU however," he turned to Axel.

"Are another story. Am I right in assuming that this was YOUR grand idea?"

"Er...noooo?"

"it wasn't?" I scratched my neck

"Demyx, we both know an idea as dumb as testing me to get a bead on my sexual preference has Axel written all over it." Zexion said mildly.

"I'll talk to you about it later, Axel, for now, I believe it's almost time to get to class. Lunch only lasts so long, after all."

"...shit." Axel whispered. I was silent before I yelled "PWND AXEL!" I almost fell over laughing "lol, come on Ax. Zexy's right.. we have a class to get to"

"yeah, yeah, stupid class...and don't EVER, yell PWND at me again." Axel growled at me lightly. I poked him in the forehead

"I can yell pwnd at you any moment I feel like it"

"So you say," He grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth in a threat to bite it.

"NOOOO!" I started flailing my arms. "Don't bite me Ax?" I made some huge puppy eyes

My voice had Zexion turning from where he was gathering his things. He glared and felt that same bitter jealousy flare up in his chest as he saw Axel holding myhand against his mouth and laughed. Zexion walked over and stepped between me and the redhead.

"Come on, boys, it's time to get to class. So behave." Though he tried to sound like he always did, I noted a faint tremor in his voice.

"Alright, come on Axel, he's right. And we've already skipped a class today" I had to admit I felt slightly uncomfortable around Zexion when I had feelings for him and didn't know where I had him

"Oh woe is me, I swear, one day, I'm just going to burn this whole place down." Axel headed towards the doors, eyeing the walls for some sort of flammable piece that could start an inferno. With a sigh Zexion followed us out.

I bumped Axel "Don't. We wanna keep you here, right Zexy?" I smiled towards the younger slate haired boy

"Sure, Demyx..." He muttered in agreement.

I smiled. "So, what class do we have anyway?"

**xXx**

The bell finally rang and I quickly gathered my stuff to get out of the class room. Urgh, me and maths do not mix well. I had my headphones on when I exited the classroom having accomplished nothing but doodlings and random notes, qoutes and songlyrics

"Demyx!" I jumped at least a foot up in the air when someone grabbed my arm. I turned around as I took of my headphones.

"Jesus christ superstar, you scared me. Hello there Zexion"

"Hi...I, uh, thought I'd walk you to your next class...if that's alright with you?"

I smiled "sure company's always nice. what class do you have?"

"English" He replied, returning my smile.

I nodded "alright, english is nice.. I have home ec." Zexion looked like he was going to laugh but he only smiled.

"Home ec? YOU take home ec?"

"what's wrong with me taking home ec.?" I exhaled. "A smoke would be nice right about now.."

Zexion just shrugged, "Nothing's wrong...i'm just amazed that there hasn't been an 'epic fuck-up' as Axel would say."

I laughed "there's been alot of epic fuck ups... not all 'caused by your's truly. Besides, I was me who came up with the epic fuck up... So Axel can go screw himself" I turned my steps towards an exit. Zexion followed me, to my great surprise.

"So...you and Axel have a sort of...kinship in delinquency?"

I smiled gently "yeah.. he's a really good friend" I lit a cigarette and sat down on a bench "we have a lot of fun"

"Yeah...you have so much fun, I end up cleaning the messes you guys make." He smiled to soften his words. "But it's nice to have a close friend like that...kind of like what you and me have, right?"

I scratched my neck "sorry 'bout that..." I smiled towards him and ruffled his hair. I was taken a back for a second of how soft it was "well... I think it's a different sort. Because all of you are special in your own ways and therefore I have different relationships to you"

"That's rather insightful of you... So, even if one of us changed...you'd still think that way?"

I chuckled "I have my moments." I took another drag. "yeah sure. you're still my friends"

"So even if, say, someone started liking you as more than a friend...you'd still think they were just unique and treat them the same?"

I furrowed my brows. "I guess. it might become awkward if I didn't feel the same, but I'd still accept the person"

"That's comforting, in a way... You know what Axel said back during lunch? About your test failing?"

I tried to think back "Yeah, what about it?"

Take the plunge or try and cover up the blunder? He swallowed hard and twisted his hands together. "He...wasn't exactly correct in saying that..."

I almost choked on the smoke "excuse me?" wait what?

"Well, I acted angry, but I was just embarrassed is all. I mean, I felt like you guys knew more about me than I did...am I making any sense?"

"oh... yeah sure you do" something felt like a rock in the pit of my stomach. I lowered my gaze and took another drag

"Well, I guess I should just come out and say it then...Demyx...I think...I think I might be gay."

Oh the joy. I think I can hear angels sing.

..

No wait.. it was choir practise.. but still.

"well" I smiled "there's nothing wrong with that now is it?"

"Y-you think so? It's kind of new to me, so I guess I'm a little ashamed to admit it."

"ah, well yea.. it's kind of a big thing. But who would i be to judge you? Hell I am gay myself" I smiled and stretched "urgh.. I'm tired" I leaned back and closed my eyes. Rested my head against the wall behind me

"You're really going to sleep...right here...right now?"

I shook my head "naah.. just gonna rest my eyes for a few minutes"

I must've fallen asleep,'cause I had a strange dream. The soft voice of Zexion was whispering words to me. But it must've been a dream. 'Cause there was no way he would say those words to me for real...

. "I don't love you, Dem...but with feeling the way I do now...I know that I could...I wish I could tell you out loud...but this is as close as I'll ever get..."

"I'm off to class. Stay out here and sleep if you want." Came Zexion's voice and I came back to reality with a jerk and looked around before I stretched once again before I drew my hands through my hair and rubbed my eyes "naah.. I need to get to class too.. as I said.. can't skip anymore today, already skipped one class today"

Together we walked inside. Finally Zexion's voice broke the silence

"Is it really risky to skip more than one a day? Axel skips multiple classes all the time."

"well.. that depends.. I still wanna keep decent grades.. Axel's a little more careless than I am.." I shook my head "gah, I think I actually dozed off because I think I had a dream"

"Yes, Axel IS rather careless...care to tell me about your dream?"

I felt a slight heat on my face "naah.. it's nothing interesting" no Zexion, I am not telling you I dreamt that you expressed your feelings towards me. I've already made a big enough fool out of myself

"It must be something interesting if you don't want to talk about it." He chuckled but before he could pry further, we reached the home ec room. "Oh well, I'll have to pester you about it later." He laughed.

"well, either way I'm not telling you" I blinked my eye and tapped him on the nose before I disappeared into my classroom

**xXx**

I tossed and turned in my bed for the umpteenth time. I just couldn't fall asleep. I think that I at some point fell asleep but awoke by a nightmare and hadn't been able to fall asleep since. I found my cell phone on the bedside table. Might as well disturb someone else.. I flipped through my contacts. Axel would just be pissy. Seriously.. you don't wanna wake that guy.. Roxas I don't know enough. Sora is not the kind of person I wanna talk to..

..

Zexion..

I found his name, hesitated for a while and then pushed the call button and waited for it to dialect

"Hello?".

"Zexion..? It's me, Demyx.. I'm sorry, did I wake you..?

"Uh...not really... Why are YOU still up? Did something happen?

"no.. everything's fine" lies. All lies. "but I just couldn't sleep. Why are you awake?"

"Same reason. Must've been something I ate at dinner..."

"ouch.. I'm sorry. so uh.. what are you doing?"yeah that's a great question Demyx. It's two AM. I wanted to hit my face against something hard for being so stupid. I heard him chuckle slightly.

"Not much...just sitting here...wondering if a piece of the house might find it convenient to fall on my head and render me unconscious. What are you doing

"Lying in bed, but can't really fall asleep." Der. "why do you wanna be hit in the head with a piece of your house?" I really should've thought this through more before I actually called

"I don't know," He answered with a laugh. "Might make the night at least interesting if it doesn't put me to sleep."

I smiled to myself at his answer. "well.. that's true." I was running out of subjects and panic kicked in because I didn't really want the call to be over

"Want to talk about that dream you may or may not have had?" He offered and I blushed. Well.. Why not? As long as he couldn't see me it was okay... Tomorrow would be a later problem.

"well.. Um.." I coughed nervously "It's a little funny actually. I was dreaming about.. well.. uh.. you.."

"O-oh...heh...w-what about me?" Did Zexion just stutter? Oh well.. might as well go the whole hog...

"well.. I dreamt that you admitted.. that.. you had feelings for.. me.." the last words was naught but a mere whisper.. Oh god I was going to regret this later

"You heard that? I-I mean..."

"wait.. that wasn't a dream?" Oh great. Thank kingdom hearts for darkness and loneliness. I just know I was turning a red formerly unknown to mankind

"No..." He whispered. "I thought you were asleep enough not to hear it..."

I didn't know what to say. I pulled up my legs and sat like a ball against the wall in the darkness of the night in my room.

"I..eh..." I wanted nothing more than to tell him he wasn't the only one with feelings but the cat got my tongue. Silence laid thick and I could hear Zexion cough. I wanted nothing more than to break the silence as panic ran through my veins. Then suddenly came Zexion's voice and he sounded angry as he grated out into the phone.

"You said that you'd accept your friends, even if they changed or started feeling differently about you."

"Zexion.. you don't understand." my voice was back and I panicked.

"I.. I do accept you" oh fuck it, that didn't come out right. "it's just.."

"Just what?" He demanded, wiping away a tear. Oh, now I'm crying? God, this sucks...I wished in that moment that I didn't even have a heart...then I could be spared these painful, traitorus feelings. Zexion thought to himself.

This is it Demyx. Spit it out. You got everything you want at your feet. It's just to take it. Accept it and admit you also have feelings for him.

"It'sjustthatilikeyoutoo" I spat out in one breath and I so hoped he caught that.. There was no way I'd be able to repeat it.

"W-what? Did...did you just say that...you...like me...to?"

I nodded and then realized he couldn't see me. God I felt so stupid. "yeah" my voice was thin, patethic and I didn't recognize it. My heart broke when he suddenly started laughing manically.

"Really?" He got out between the laughters.

"yes" I lost more and more confidence of each second of laughs. Had he just been fucking with my mind when he said that he liked me to be able to make a fool out of me? It sure as hell didn't sound as the Zexion I knew but what if? I remained silent, not daring to say anything, unsure if my voice would hold.

"And I was so scared to say it...I never thought that it would happen like this...I...Demyx, I don't think I've ever felt like this before. Tell me this is mutual, right now, before I completely believe it."

Hearing his voice, sounding so happy I suddenly found myself with a lot of confidence.

"Do you wanna go out with me someday.. like.. a date..?"

"I...well...yeah...I mean...that is...if you want to." My smile faltered at the insecurity in his voice

"otherwise I wouldn't have asked..." my voice died out at the end

"R-right... I...I'd love to go out with you sometime, Demyx," Though it was somewhat confident sounding, the statement was barely above a whisper.

"A.. alright.. then it's.. decided..." I cleared my throat, unknowing what to say. It sounded like we were making a business deal instead of making a date.

"Um...I guess...we'll talk more about the details at school?" He asked with a nervous laughter.

"yeah.. that sounds good" Oh god I'm never going to be able to look him in the eyes

"I'll...I'll come over to your house early and we can...walk there...talk on the way, maybe..."

"yeah.. sounds good" Oh dear god, how am I going to do this? Just him and me. It's going to be fun yes, but oh dear god, I'm not going to be able to talk to him

"O-okay...so it's settled..." He trailed off.

I was both anxious for tomorrow...yet dreading hanging up the phone, knowing that that would make all this final and there would be no going back. Was it always this awkward and heady when you first started out? I took a deep breath and didn't want to end the phone call. That would mean we had to start all over again

"soo.. uuh.."

"Yes?"

"uuh.. " I seriously had no idea what to say, but I really didn't want the call to end.

"what are you wearing?" oh yeah Demyx, THAT'S gonna charm him.

"I-I...what am I wearing?" Zexion almost wanted to giggle girlishly at that, but he decided to play along...after all, it seemed we were both fishing to keep the call going. "Um...boxers...what are you wearing?" tit for tat.

"how.. classy" I couldn't help myself from snickering at the ridiculous subject but I chose to continue it anyway..

"same.. plus one sock on my right foot.."

"Wow...that's...original...never known anybody to wear only one sock to bed." He was silent for a few seconds. "I'm glad...that you heard me, I mean...I never would've been able to say it again."

"well.. My feet usually get really cold, but if I have two socks I get too warm and get nightmares so therefore one sock works for me" I couldn't help but to smile. "I'm also glad... because I'd never dared to say anything if you hadn't started"

Zexion laughed. What a strange person, Demyx was. And it really occurred to him how little he knew about him personally. Sure, he knew little things, like his likes and dislikes, but nothing really PERSONAL. "Hey, Dem? You...you wouldn't mind if we kept this...between just us, do you?"

I smiled at his laugh. It was really contagious and so rarely used. "Not at all.. But do you mind if I ask why?"

"I...I don't know...we're still tentative with each other...it would only be more awkward with everyone else knowing...I mean...think about their reactions...what if they all...don't approve?"

"well yeah.. that's true. yeah.. a secret it is." I smiled to the dark wall of my room, even though I knew he didn't see it

"Okay. We'll tell them when things have settled down...though they'll probably figure it out for themselves." He pushed his hair back and yawned. "Amazing how such a strange day turned into this, eh?"

"yeah.. Axel reads me like an open book." I laughed. "uh huh... god.. this morning was weirdest ever.. Axel and this ginger thins"

"Ginger thins?" He echoed incredulously. "Lord, don't ever let Axel near those again...probably the cause of his so called 'test'. Ginger is beyond powerful stuff. Paired with Axel..." He trailed off. "Fuu's the same way with me..."

"no, that is one thing that is sure.. Axel is banned from everything that contains ginger from now on..." I bit my lip "how do you think she'll react..? She doesn't exactly seem to like me.."

"Fuu doesn't exactly like anybody... There are just some persons she hates less... And I'm sure once she gets over the initial shock...she'll be happy that I am." H said with more confidence than he felt.

"Well, if you say so, then I'll believe you" I yawned and I heard him yawn as well. I glanced over at the clock. Wow...how did our conversation last for almost an hour?

"Dem...I really think it's time we called it a night..." Zexion said sullenly and I guessed he realized what time it was as well.

"yeah... we probably should.." But I didn't want to

"...we should...hang up now... I suppose..."

"yeah.. we should" I didn't want to hang up and didn't want to be the one to the end so I cuddled down under my cover, still phone against ear

Zexion pulled the covers up and settled the phone next to his ear on the pillow. He could still hear Demyx breathing, so he knew when he spoke he'd hear. "Yeah..." Zexion laughed again, feeling drowsy. "we should..." but we wouldn't.

Sleepines was coming over me and I knew that if I didn't hung up I'd soon say something stupid. But that didn't matter.. I'd already said so many stupid things, what's one more. I yawned again and just laid there, listening to the boy's breaths from the other side of the line

"I like hearing you breathe... I like knowing that you're alive..." Zexion whispered on the other side of the line.

I chuckled softly, half asleep, eyes half lidded. "don't worry pretty boy. I'm alive and I'm planning on staying like this for another few years"

"mmm... Only a few?" This was getting ridiculous. "We're crazy...ya know...?" His words were getting slurred and I laughed at the way that everything's funny when you're half sleeping. "why?"

"pfft...because..." More sleeping than awake I giggled "why Zexy..?"

"Why Demy?" Another yawn. "Because is why...that's it. Because is why." He sighed. "Why don't we hang up on the count of three, hm? Otherwise, we're going to fall asleep with the phone still on." Zexion was already hovering in that void between awake and asleep, everything warm and blurry.

"Alright but don't complain tomorrow when I won't dare to meet your gaze" I didn't even knew what I was saying anymore, I was probably already in a light sleeping state

"poetic of you...well, if you won't, then I'll just have to meet yours." Did that even make sense? Possibly. He didn't know anymore. "Alright, ready?"

"mmm..." was the only sound or word I could muster. "Zexion..."

"Hmm? One...two..." why couldn't he bring himself to say three?

"I'll be thinking about you.. Or dreaming.. but still.." I chuckled

Zexion smiled and reached up, thumb hovering over the end call button. "I'll be thinking about you too...no more dreaming...because they've all come true already." I sighed happily. "Goodnight, Demyx...three..."

"Three"


End file.
